Can i sue the guy that is at fault for hitting me in a car accident if he doesnt have insurance?

Question

I was involved in a car accident and the person who hit me was determined at fault. After he hit me, he fled the scene to hide his car because he had drugs in his car. He begged me not to call the police and even offered me money, but I called the police anyway. When the police arrived, he lied to the police and told them he did have insurance, and he also did not have an I.D. or Driver's License, however, the police let him go. I am upset because I went to the police station to try to file a report on the accident and they told me I could not do so because I exchanged my information with the other driver. This happened in California. Can I sue him for pain and suffering?

Answer 1

yes you can.You can sue him for fixing the car, pain and suffering and attorney fees.  And the police are right, you exchange information, so he's not liable to stay. However, you could sue him for a lot. However, dont let him know where you live because he's a drug dealer, so he might kill you.

Answer 2

Wait.. do you have his insurance information or not?

If he has insurance- file a claim through them for damages to your car and any injury.

If he doesnt- sure you can sue him for damages and your injury.. but if he doesnt have enough for insurance.. you really think h**l have money to pay you?

and wait.. are you just stating you want random money for the "pain and suffering"? Your settlement is based on your INJURY.. not just randomly saying "i suffered form this accident!"

If he has insurance you will get your medial bills paid and lost wages.. plus if you are permenantly injured.. maybe more depending on your injury.

But to me it sounds like you just want to punish this guy for lying to the police.. you dont get a monetary settlement for that.. come on.. you have to be kidding me.

Answer 3

The cops were wrong (or being lazy).  You can exchange info AND file a police report.  In fact even if you exchange info, you should ALWAY file a police report.  The only exception is if he wants to pay you off the books.

But all that does NOT matter.  Go file a police report. Then go see a lawyer.  You have about 30 days to file a lawsuit.

My wife was hit and this is what I learned.

Good Luck...

P.S.  unless you have some real damage you probably will NOT get pain and suffering.  You can get

(1) damage to your car

(2) medical bills - like emergency room visit

Real damage means:

(1) broken bones

(2) or loss of bodily function

(3) or brain trauma

(4) or 3 months of loss of work in the first 6 month

There's few more but I forget (total of 7 or 8 condition) - for pain and suffering.  But you get the idea.

Answer 4

If there are injuries or property damage over a certain amount, in CA you must file an accident report with the state.

If the other party doesn't have insurance, you can sue them in court but as previously posted, if they are so irresponsible not to have insurance, they probably couldn't afford it and don't have funds for a judgement anyway.

If you live in CA and don't have Insurance for Uninsured or Under Insured drivers, then I advise getting it. Regardless of state laws and enforcement, there are literally thousands of folks out here that don't have auto insurance. We always get insurance against uninsured and under insured drivers.

When we were rear ended by a drunk driver during his drag race, we had to eventually get an attorney who threatened to sue our own insurance company to get any money at all. Thank God we had this insurance (uninsured and underinsured) coverage on our policy as my wife broke her neck and was laid up for 14 months or so. The other driver had two other DUI's, also, and of course, no insurance. Typical loser.

Answer 5

Good luck!!!  We were in an accident and the lady was passed out on drugs backing down the on ramp.  The cops didn't want to mess with going to the hospital to get her toxicology report so we were pretty much on our own.  She didn't have insurance and our policy was a commercial policy so it didn't cover our accident.  We hired an attorney to sue her but she didn't have a job, any money or assets.  All we got was an apology from the chief of police, like that is going to help us!!!!!

I hope you have better luck than we did!!

Answer 6

The answer may vary by person.It would be a good idea to hear some of them and try to choose the best one.Here is a good one.http://car-insurance.easyideas4u.info/ca...

Answer 7

The cop is on drugs.   You have to exchange information with the other driver.  That is part of the procedure.  Filing a report is part of the procedure.  So whazzupwitdat??  Yeah you can sue him.  But it is probably gonna be like getting blood from a stone.     He probably has nothing so what else can you get.  Send him to prison where your tax money can feed and house him for a couple years?

Answer 8

Sure you can sue, but what are your damages?  Can cannot sue for pain and suffering if you were not injured.  You can also sue for the damage to your vehicle.  If you were injured, then sure sue him, but you need to medically document your injuries, i.e. medical records, bills etc.

However, if he did not have insurance, I seriously doubt you will recover anything from him especially if he is probably a drug dealer.  You cannot garnish illegal income.  

Anyway, you can file an Uninsured Motorist claim against your own policy if you were injured.  Your insurance company will settle and try to recover against him on their own.

Answer 9

You can sue anyone for any reason.

Answer 10

I'm not sure about the possibility of sueing him personally but

in lots of states there is a coverage called "uninsured motorist " written into the liability coverage on your own auto insurance policy.  If you check with your insurance company you may find that you have coverage for both your medical and property damages. Sorry, no coverage for pain and suffering.     Good Luck