Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

uninsured and hit parked car, questionable reports and claim amount

my husband hit a parked car. he gave them all his information and we found out our vehicle was no longer covered by his mothers insurance. After speaking with the owners of the vehicle he hit they agreed that they woud work with us to repair their car, amd let the know when my husband got paid we could get started. We didn't hear anything from them and then about 2 and a half months later we recieved a letter from an insurance company stating we owe the insurance company 2800.+ for the damages to the other vehicle and had 10 days to contact their office to let them know when we would be paying them. my husband called their office and asked how they came up with this amount and they sent us an email with pictures and a list of parts and labor costs that was dated the day after the owners of the vehicle agreed to work with us on it. the amount the are requesting is about 1500. more than the damage caused by my husband, and we asked about that they said, that they and their clients decided it best to just total out the vehicle and allowed the owners to retain the vehicle so they could get the salvage rights to it. Are we obligated to pay what ever amount they quote us? can we fight this claim at all? any information would be great.


Asked on 2/10/06, 2:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joseph Richardson Borton Petrini LLP

Re: uninsured and hit parked car, questionable reports and claim amount

You can fight it. And frankly, the good news is that if there is "only" $2800 involved, the company is not going to want to sue you. It's not that $2,800 is a paltry amount, but it is small by insurance standards. Also, if you didn't have insurance, and other assets are not obvious (i.e. if you don't own a home), they know they have to either (1) take what they can get or (2) get a judgment and sit on it. The insurance company wants to collect what they can collect and move on. And if the insurance company is collecting against you directly, then chances are you won't be sued in small claims court, and you are a long way from judgment being entered against you. The long and the short of it is; do what you can do how you can do it. Beggars can't be choosers. In this case, the "beggars" are the insurance company and the owners of the parked car. They can go get a judgment, but it takes time and money and they'd rather get what they can and move on. Use that to your advantage. Wish you the best.

Read more
Answered on 2/13/06, 6:50 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Personal Injury Law and Tort Law questions and answers in California