Can you sue someone for a deductable ?

Question

My son was hit by an uninsured motorist with an out of state drivers license. The good news is he's got "Uninsured Motorist" coverage, but will still have to meet the deductable, which will be hundreds.

Can he sue the other driver, who admitted it was his fault in the police report, for the amount of the deductable, so my son has no out-of-pocket cost ?

Answer 1

yes you can, it is quite common in my area. You will sue in small claims court for the deductible amount. If you have to hire an attorney to do it then it will not be worth your time. You may very will end up with a judgment against the other person if they are unable to pay

Answer 2

yes you can. if your son had to pay for a rental while his car was fixed... you can sue for that. if your son was hurt in anyways then there's pain and suffering you could sue for.

Answer 3

The basic question of the lawsuit is covered correctly above me here, but I see one particular problem.

Uninsured motorists coverage is for medical claims resulting from being injured in an accident. Unless I am reading your question incorrectly, I am assuming you are referring to your vehicle damage for the deductable charges?

Check with your insurance agent about what is covered by uninsured motorist. A law suit may be the only recourse you have in this, which you will win, but the law has no provision for collecting on the suit.

Best of luck and I hope this is useful to you

Answer 4

Waste of time. You can win, but you won't collect. Check to see if your state let's you make a filing on an uninsured driver with no insurance that suspends his license (or has the same effect, even if he's licensed in another state or has none) until he makes good. His motivation is that he gets arrested for the suspension if he's caught driving.

Answer 5

Yes, suing is easy. However, actually collecting is another matter. You will run the risk of losing additional money for the filing fees.

It is becoming more common for the insurance companies to sue the person responsible, so they can recoup the money paid for your claim. If you are lucky, they will get the full amount, and credit your deductible. I wouldn't be waiting by my mailbox for a check, however.

Answer 6

Yes, you can, but depending on the size of the deductable it may not be worth the time and expense to pursue.

A lawsuit generally will cost you about $150.00 to file and have the defendant served.  If you hire an attorney to do it, you are looking at several more hundred dollars.

Even if you win a judgement against the defendant, what are the odds that this guy will pay?  He lacks even the most basic liability insurance and therefore probably would be unable to pay any judgement against him.

Answer 7

Yes you can.