Can I sue someone for driving and breaking my car (been a total loss). What is the process to do it by myself?

Question

I had my nice 94 Toyota corolla 76K, very reliable good car.

I was relocating from one city to another in NC (within 30 miles)

I was driving my moving truck and asked my friend to drive my car with my wife and daughter and to follow the truck.

On the way, he did not take left turn after exit and went to right lane and did not event yield and hit another van on front left.

No one is hurt (thanks god!) It Happened in front of my eyes and my Car is a total loss! My friend said break did not work but I used to drive that car 80 miles every day to work and had been driving it for last 4 years! My friend did not even said sorry a single time to me or my wife and did not feed bad about my loss. I asked my friend to give him a ride back to his home the same day after accident and he did that. After the incident he did not call me a single time to say sorry. I came to know that he did accident in Sept, 06 the same way and totalled his own car and he did not stop on a red light. How to sue??

Answer 1

I still don't understand what you'll sue for.  Emotional distress?  Your friend's ignorance?  You already recouped the price of the car.  All other damages are "unspecified".  If spending several thousand on a lawyer to "teach your friend a lesson" is worth it for you, then go ahead and file suit.  Even if you lose, it'll stress him up a bit, and he may spend a few thousand on a lawyer as well.  In the end, it's the lawyers that win.  

I think it's just better to kiss the friendship good bye and move on dood.

Answer 2

As someone else told you your best bet would be small claims court. The best you will do is get back what ever Kelly Blue Book shows. Any thing you recover up to what the insurance pays will go back to the insurance company. A lawyer will probably cost you more than you can recover. I am pretty sure you can't get mental anguish or stress money out of it.

Answer 3

Ouch...this whole thing is full of sadness for everyone.

I doubt you can sue here. You willingly allowed him to drive

your car with your family. Be thankful, as you are, it's just the

car that's wrecked.  As far as appologies. Are you sure he

never said " I'm sorry ". not that that matters but..it makes the

guy really sound pitiful.  I'm sure not calling you is his way of

hiding from this whole scenario. This is just a total shame.

Answer 4

The absolute very best you can do is to go out and find a lawyer you trust and present your case and see what he/she says. That's the best way to start a lawsuit. Once you get one that will take your case they should be able to do all the paperwork, serve your "friend" his subpoena to show up in court and your case will start the trial.

Also if your friend has car insurance I suggest you get a copy of it and see if his insurance will pay for your car. That might be another step that will help or hurt your case.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Yes you can by going through the small claims court system but remember that no matter how great the vehicle was you will only be awarded the (ACV) actual cash value at the time of the accident..

Answer 6

If someone drives your car with your permission, the liability for whatever happens is 100% yours. If you knew someone was accident prone, why let them drive your car?

Answer 7

Find the book value of your car (on KBB.com).

File a lawsuit (in small claims court).

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Remind me to not do you any driving favor.

Good Luck...