Source
r/legaladvice•
ciscomd

CA - my parked car was hit by a driver who reported it to the police, but now his insurance company isn't paying up and I'm getting screwed. What are my options?

His insurance company had our car towed to a shady auto shop 4 towns away and when we asked to have it moved somewhere closer to home they refused. Now the body shop wants $90 a day for "storing it" or they won't release it. His insurance won't commit to covering him because they say the car is in his parents' name. My insurance won't give me a rental car, nor are they being helpful at all-- every time we call they say our adjuster has stepped out or left for the day, and she never returns our calls (not sure if I can name names but this is a very large insurer with a popular human female spokeswoman).

Now we're 5 days and counting without our car or a rental and we have 2 kids and 3 jobs between us. We're getting screwed left and right because of somebody else's mistake. What do we need to be doing to stem and recover our losses here? We don't know what our rights are but this doesn't feel right.

Posted Jul 24, 2015, 1:08 AM UTC

021
Blacksheep214•

Rent a car, pay the storage fee, have your car repaired. Then sue the driver for damages and lost wages.

Also, be sure to report it to the DMV if the damages are over $750 - you only have 10 days or they can suspend your license

15
ciscomdOP•

This actually happened once before and we sued for $7,000 and won, and never saw a dime of it. That was in 2004. Due to this experience, I am VERY reluctant to come out of pocket on costs for this. I'm pretty afraid I'll never get any of it back.

-9
Cornell2017•

did you not attempt to claim your judgement?

6
ciscomdOP•

Of course we did. What kind of question is that?

-4
sweetrobna•

Did the other party have insurance before? Did the person you hit have insurance now? Name both the driver and the owner of the car in your small claims suit.

5
ciscomdOP•

Did the person you hit have insurance now?

I didn't hit anyone. Has anyone actually read my posts or did you all just show up to ask irrelevant questions and downvote? Sorry, I hate to be rude but you people are nuts. I've never had a thread - much less two threads on one sub - turn to nothing but insults and downvotes so quickly and for no reason at all. Bring on the downvote brigade all day long but fuck this subreddit. You guys are seriously weird and the opposite of helpful. I've been on reddit for a long time and this is not normal. This sub has issues.

-6
Ritzcarltonsteam•

He was referring to your previous case that you won not the current one.

3
forneusFQ•

In your last post you said the damage exceeded the KBB value of the car meaning it's a total loss. Neither company is going to provide a rental or repair the car. If you have collision your company should offer a payout less your deductible. Otherwise you can recover from the other driver either through their insurance or in small claims. Either way you need to get the car out of the shop and dispose of it, the storage fee is just flushing money away.

ETA hyperlink.

6†
ciscomdOP•

Are you a lawyer? My jaw is just on the floor if this is the extent of my protection under the law. I DID NOT ask to have my car towed to a bodega shop across town. I DID NOT ask for it to be smashed into by an idiot teenager who couldn't control his dad's 350hp sports car in the rain. I DID NOT do anything wrong-- and I'm somehow responsible for all of this under the law? I don't get it. This makes no sense to me. Go ahead and downvote like everyone did in the last post. I guarantee you that you'd be pissed to if you were in my position.

-11
cephalus•

You aren't going to get more than the KBB for your car in an accident.

9†
ciscomdOP•

What does that have to do with anything I've said here?

-7
cephalus•

They damaged your property. This means they are liable to repay you the value of your property. The rage that this apparently induces in you comes for free.

3†
TheIronMark•

I DID NOT do anything wrong-- and I'm somehow responsible for all of this under the law?

Not legal advice, but this is one of those things that just happens. It's not your shit, but you still have to deal with it. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

I guarantee you that you'd be pissed to if you were in my position.

And you have a right to be, but you still need to deal with the issue using the tools at your disposal. It sounds like a bummer of situation.

3
ciscomdOP•

The law is the law and I understand that even if I don't like it, I have to deal with it. Having gone through this before, I knew the moment it happened that it was going to cost me. I came here looking for advice regarding what my legal standing is and how I can best and most effectively mitigate my losses. All I got was insulted, downvoted, and talked down to. Reddit has gotten bad but most of it is still not this bad. Something is wrong with this subreddit.

-3
ttho10•

  1. Do you have collision coverage on your own policy?

  2. If your car is a total loss, they aren't going to repair it for you or move it to a shop of your choice to have it repaired. If you choose to keep the salvaged/totaled vehicle, getting it from point A to point B is at your expense. The insurance company owes you the actual cash value of the car.

  3. Has the other insurance company sent you a formal denial letter saying they're not taking care of the damages? Or is it that they haven't yet spoken with the owner(s)/named insureds?

3