Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

If your car has already been paid for, then I'm not sure what sort of damages you think you're still entitled to. Even if the other driver is ordered to pay you the same amount, you would be required to turn it over to the insurance company. I don't see a good reason to do this.

Your insurer has the right to sue the other driver in subrogation to recover the benefits it paid you. If it doesn't sue him, it will probably be because the case did not seem worth pursuing. The same would probably be true of a lawsuit by you.

The vast majority of insurance policies contain subrogation clauses that transfer your right to sue to your insurance company once a claim has been paid. Thus, because your claim was paid, you no longer have a right to seek recovery from the person who destroyed your car.