Car Accident. Please give me some advice.

[Snowwoman]

My husband had a car accident a few days ago. It was not his fault. It was at a college parking and they were reversing, and they didnt see him and hit his car. He was not driving.

He didn't have a cell phone at that time and didn't call the police. They didn't have a car insurance and told him to pay for the damage. They went to get an estimate together and the estimate was about $1,500. Now they start saying that it is not fair, $1,500 is too much. And they say they don't have money...

If they don't pay for the damage, my husband says he will use his insurance to get his car repaired, but he has to pay some for the insurance. I think it is so wrong. We cannot afford it so I don't want him to do it...

He rented a car today to go to work. His car now is at a body shop and negotiating to reduce the payment. I was not there when the accident happened, so I cannot tell them anything, but even if they don't wanna pay, we just cannot force them to pay... It really hurts our budget... Is there any way that we can make them pay for the damage?

Is it too late to report the police the accident? It was a school property but is it right to report it to the police in that kind of situation? Can't we report a driver who doesn't have a car insurance?

I don't know if it is a right place to post, but I will really appreciate your help.

[Manxman]

You're probably going to have to say where you are (which state at least).

You could sue them I guess...

[Snowwoman]

Thank you for reply. He said it is not worth to sue them...

[scott715us]

Thank you for reply. He said it is not worth to sue them...

That's why you always get a report done. Those that don't have insurance usually are up to something.

[ChesCopPodz]

Too late for a report. If he exchanged information with the other driver the legal requirement is done. The crash occurred on private property so the can't be charged with no insurance. They couldn't be charged with that after the fact anyways. The only recourse now is to take them to civil court and sue them. If he says it's not worth that then there is nothing left you can do except tell your husband to grow a pair and make them pay for the damage. If he's worried about missing work and losing more money you can tack that on to the suit, as well as the cost for the rental car. I'd be pretty miffed if I were you in the situation, having to spend money that you say you don't have because your husband doesn't want to go through the trouble to make the responsible party pay for damage to y'all's car.

[txinvestigator1]

In Texas private property accidents are not investigated by the Police.

[Super Six 5]

In Texas private property accidents are not investigated by the Police.

Ditto in CT.

You SHOULD go through the insurance company and they'll fight to get the money out of the other party. That's why you pay all that cash every 6 months.

[Jay7376]

In Texas private property accidents are not investigated by the Police.

Same here in Michigan...we will not respond to private property accidents.

[scott715us]

Private property where the driving public frequents can still justify a traffic accident report here (as in our airport ;) ).

[Liter_of_cola]

Here comes my favorite statement, "It's a civil matter"
We don't investigate private property accidents here either.

[P01IC3M4N]

My husband had a car accident a few days ago. It was not his fault. It was at a college parking and they were reversing, and they didnt see him and hit his car. He was not driving.

He didn't have a cell phone at that time and didn't call the police. They didn't have a car insurance and told him to pay for the damage. They went to get an estimate together and the estimate was about $1,500. Now they start saying that it is not fair, $1,500 is too much. And they say they don't have money...

If they don't pay for the damage, my husband says he will use his insurance to get his car repaired, but he has to pay some for the insurance. I think it is so wrong. We cannot afford it so I don't want him to do it...

He rented a car today to go to work. His car now is at a body shop and negotiating to reduce the payment. I was not there when the accident happened, so I cannot tell them anything, but even if they don't wanna pay, we just cannot force them to pay... It really hurts our budget... Is there any way that we can make them pay for the damage?

Is it too late to report the police the accident? It was a school property but is it right to report it to the police in that kind of situation? Can't we report a driver who doesn't have a car insurance?

I don't know if it is a right place to post, but I will really appreciate your help.

boy did your husband screw up. most states allow you to get repairs done anywhere you choose. i don't know where you're at, but there are different things for different states. you can file with your insurance under collision (if you have collision) or uninsured (if you have uninsured) depending on what coverages you have on your policy. after repairs to your vehicle, your insurance company will then subrogate the kid to get the repair costs, deductibles, and rental expenditures back. uninsured works the same way as a property damage liability coverage. you get rental and property damage inclusive. if you have a rental reimbursement on your policy, then that should cover the rental.

what coverages and endorsements do you have on your policy? uninsured and no fault collision are not usually supposed to penalize you as far as your rates go.

$1500 really isn't bad. most paint and body labor is around $40 an hour so paint time is going to be pretty costly. do you have the estimate? if you want to pay out of pocket and sue the kid on your own, you can see if it's cheaper to do a 'like kind quality' part as opposed to R&I, or vice versa. shops always charge joe citizen twice as much as they do an insurance company.

[ngcsubutterbar]

What state was it?


I just checked you are connecting from both Oklahoma and Japan.

[phantasm]

in NY "private property" accidents can result in a police report, and liability. According to NYS VTL traffic laws must be followed both on public roadways, and in parking lots.

[S43riff]

Well the private parking issue is debated sometimes if there is public access. You can still go to the police dep and get a report of accident form, list the information and send it in. If you have the persons phone number you can call him and advise him you have the form and will send it in if they do not pay you......kinda a bluff because the form is only a report of one. Not an investigation of fault. In florida the vehicle MUST have insurance,,,even at the college....he drove it there somehow.

[kels]

Always call the cops.
EVEN if they dont do private prop accidents.
I rolled up on one of these the other day.
Drivers were exchanging information as required.
Just to cover my assets, I asked and ran all
driver and vehicle information.
GEE, GUESS WHAT, the cause of the accident
had a suspended DL, no insurance, and
a couple of WARRANTS.
Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00,
go directly to jail.