Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

First of all, this is not an appropriate question for this category. This category concerns the law and ethics concerning the regulation of attorneys who practice law in the State of California. It has nothing to do with people being ethical or responsible on the street.

I am going to give you some general pointers, since one of my first jobs in the legal field was working for a personal injury attorney. At the scene of the accident, you should have exchanged names, addresses and insurance information. If she left the scene without providing you that information she could be charged with misdemeanor hit and run.

Second, you were both required to file an SR-1 with the DMV. Here is a link for information for that: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/sr/sr1.htm

If you have her information, you need to submit a claim with her insurance company. If you cannot settle the claim, you basically have a lawsuit against her for property damage. (It does not appear from your post that you claim personal injury.) Keep in mind that there is a two year statute of limitations for personal injury and three years for property damage in the State of California. That is a time limit that states that you must file a lawsuit before those times run from the date of the accident.

There are attorneys who handle claims like this, and will do so on a contingency fee, but will take a portion of the settlement as their fee.