legal advice

[ramacher]

a 'former' friend hit me in his car at an intersection while driving uninsured. My insurance covered everything, but of course my insurance will go up because of him even though I am not at fault. What legal means can I do to get something from him to just to get even. People like this just piss me off and want me to go scarface all over them.

[Twist]

small claims court

[ramacher]

That is what I was thinking but what exactly can I sue him for and what if he can't pay? Can I sue him for more than the damages on the car?

[Twist]

I have no idea. I can imagine you can sue him for the damages to the car, and the increase in insurance payments. If insurance paid for the car then I guess you could sue for the difference in insurance payments and for depreciating your cars resale value. I'm just guessing.

[ramacher]

ok i will do that. thanks Twist.

[lovbyts]

Are you sure your insurance will go up for this one claim? Dont jump to conclusions to fast and obviously you have to wait until you know before you can sue him for anything. You have to have proof that it went up and it was due to his negligence.

[ramacher]

Yes, my insurance will go up as the result of this, I am almost positive. But, if he was involved in the hit-n-run without having insurance, I could still sue him, on top of him going to jail without car insurance.

[lovbyts]

Now is it a hit n run or was it just an accident? Sounds more like you have a grudge on your ex friend and looking for some payback?

[ramacher]

It was a hit n run or at least that is what is in the police report. Didn't have a problem until he started becoming a flake and not returning my calls or the insurance co calls. But yes I would love to do anything to get back at him.

[gixxerboy1]

you cant sue him for damages to the car because the insurance paid for it. You could sue for the deductible. Your insurance company will go after him for the damages because they are out $$ and if they recover they will return your deductible. You car insurance sucks if it goes up from being hit.

[10nispro]

you could try to sue for pain and suffering, loss of wages, medical bills or expenses, or such.... but I'm guessing if he wasnt caring car insurance you may be trying to get blood out of a turnip..

[ramacher]

it was my bmw 7-series. love that car.

[Immortal Soldier]

How does a "former friend" hit you at an intersection. Like seriously what are the chances? Seems like there is more to this story than is being told...

[ramacher]

It did happen by chance. Saw him at the same club I was at earlier in the night and as I left he ran a stop light and t-boned my car at the intersection.

[brad1986]

a 'former' friend hit me in his car at an intersection while driving uninsured. My insurance covered everything, but of course my insurance will go up because of him even though I am not at fault. What legal means can I do to get something from him to just to get even. People like this just piss me off and want me to go scarface all over them.

I hope this issue isnt what ruined your freindship. I think getting back at your friends in spite is kinda b**ch made. Unless he did this straight up on purpose i would let it go..... or whoop his ass.... just dont go "cop callin" on people... nobody likes a person like that

[Immortal Soldier]

It did happen by chance. Saw him at the same club I was at earlier in the night and as I left he ran a stop light and t-boned my car at the intersection.

Damn that seems like he intended to do it and maybe he was intoxicated at the time. Did you seem him at the club drinking?

[lovbyts]

Yeah I'm thinking there is a lot more to this story than we know, probably a long history and more than one side to the story.

[Times Roman]

I have no idea. I can imagine you can sue him for the damages to the car, and the increase in insurance payments. If insurance paid for the car then I guess you could sue for the difference in insurance payments and for depreciating your cars resale value. I'm just guessing.

how things work in small claims depends on which state you live. I have no idea about oregon. In cali, the max is $5k (or was last i checked). You can only claim actual monetary damages, so you better do some analysis. for example, ins prem b4 the accident = $500/year. after accident = $750/year. your insurance agent will have to supply how many years you can expect the elevated premiums, but just say it is 3 years. in this case, you could file for damages in the amount of $750.

Depreciation is a function of time. If the body shop restores the vehicle to more or less pre accident condition, then you have no additional monetory claim stemming from vehicular damage.

I have filed dozens of claims (my job function) and won 90% of them. So now you have a judgement. What next? the court is not a collection agency, and they will not collect your money for you. And in all probability, if your dip shit friend doesn't have insurance, probably means he doesn't have much cash, or a decent job either. Probably not a homeowner. So if you want to get a judgement for the principle of the matter, you are on the right track.

To recover funds from your judgement, he will either need a steady job (garnishment, difficult process), or leinable assets (home, bank account, etc.)

Sometimes, it is better to just let it go. your chances of a successful judgement are good, but chance of financial recovery is low.

And this could suck up a lot of your time.

[ramacher]

the long story is we played at rival high schools in football at opposite ends of town. before this happened, if we saw each other downtown at the night clubs we would say hello at each other thats it. I want and probably will be successful in suing for the deductable, and increase in insurance. I really want this kid to pay for his actions because is avoiding paying anything and that is not right. I could maybe go further in paying for an injury or something along those lines.

[Times Roman]

no injury claims in small claims. Only monetary claims

[firmechicano831]

this story makes no sense at all. Something is missing! It's called the whole story.

[ramacher]

Ok what do you think the entire story is?

[chemicalromance]

this story makes no sense at all. Something is missing! It's called the whole story.

Yea wtf. Isnt there a portion of your insurance premium that is for "uninsured motorist" situations like this one. Why in the hell would your insurance go up and he actually didnt say for sure whether it would go up or not. I think the deductible is up to the person who is insured. A person can opt for a high or low deductible and the corresponding low or high insurance premium payments that go along with each. If you had a no deductible plan what would you sue for? I dont see how you could sue for reimbursment of the deductible but its worth a try i guess. Not sayin he's full of it but if his insurance does go up that would make me wanna go goodfellas on someone too.