What legal actions can I take if someone who hit my car refuses to pay me as promised?

[newyddilyn60]

We were in the middle of heavy traffic on highway, and she bumped my car in the back while my car was not moving at the time. It caused minor damages to my back bumper, and I contacted her next morning. She insisted not to report to her insurance and promised to send me a money order if I sent her an estimate. To make a long story short, she failed to pay me after a month of me 'begging' for her to keep the promise, and she ended up not responding to my text messages at all (she never answered to my call, so we communicated via texts).

I called my insurance company, and they contacted her insurance company and filed a claim. Now, the other driver's insurance company is telling me that they cannot process the claim as they can not reach her... Of course I can use my own coverage, but the deductible is $500, and the estimate of car repair is $600. So here are my questions:

1. The other driver's insurance is unlikely to get her statement of accident; can they still pay me if the accident was decided to be the other driver's fault?

2. If this claim gets never processed as the other driver is not reachable, what are some other legal actions that I can take? (I warned her about going through the small claim court as the last resort, but is it really worth it?) Please let me know as many other options as possible..

It's not the matter of money anymore. I am so frustrated about her attitude and lies, and if it is possible, I just want to ask a cop to find and arrest her for me so we can talk face to face. I do not know her address, and the insurance company wouldn't give it to me, of course.

Thank you for reading!

[fiynn]

get a lawyer and go to court

[kirklin]

Small Claims court.

[macquaid35]

If you do not have a police report from this accident scene, you cannot win this case. She's going to say it never happened, and the plaintiff in a civil case has the burden of proof.

The text messages aren't proof unless the number can be tied to her account. Which requires a subpoena.

And even if you win, you already know she won't pay the judgement, right? That's a whole other battle.

Unfortunately, she has committed no crime ... Except the same one you seem to have committed. Failing to report the accident.

It's an expensive lesson. :/ Sorry I don't have better news for you.

"Is there anything I can do to actually get the money from either her or her insurance company despite of not being able to reach her?" Other than win and enforce a judgement? No. Her insurance company will decide whether to pay or deny the claim. If they deny, your insurance company will decide if it is worth suing hers. All you can do there is wait. (And encourage your insurance company to go after her.) Good luck.

[edmondo93]

Go ahead and file the claim with your insurance...even though this is a small amount, they still may go after her. If they do, they don't give up! If and when they get their money, you will be refunded your deductible.
Her insurance was apparently valid, so something is really odd about this!
Yes, it's worth it to sue her if she can be served and located. She is legally responsible for the damages to your car. Do you have her car license #? You may be able to get a valid address from this OR her insurance company.
Good Luck...She will get her Karmic "reward"!

[christie42]

As long as her insurance company doesn't deny coverage, then they will pay. It doesn't matter if they can't contact her. If they don't have her statement, then they can only assume your statement is correct unless they have actual evidence you are lying.

You might even be able to sue her insurance company for bad faith and get punitive damages far in excess of your actual damages. In any case, their saying they can't process the claim simply because they can't contact her is enough to interest a lawyer enough to consider taking your case on a contingency. Just threatening the insurance company with bad faith should be enough to get them to cough up the money.

Don't let them lowball you either. Demand exactly what you deserve, at least the full cost of repair and any medical bills. Plus you'd likely get something for pain and suffering if there was any injury. She rear-ended you which almost always means she's totally at fault.

There should be plenty of lawyers who will give you a free initial consultation so it wouldn't hurt to call your local bar association for referrals if you don't know any lawyers. The case against the woman herself won't interest many because $600 is nothing to them, but mention the insurance company's reason for not paying the claim, and they should get excited about your case.

Why didn't you get her address when you got her phone number? At the very least, you should have looked at her drivers license as well as her insurance proof.

Finally, her promise to pay you, and then reneging, is another basis for suing. It's a breach of contract. Contrary to what another person answered prior to me, negligent driving and breach of contract are breaking the law even though she wouldn't be jailed for it.

[aviya]

Why are you taking this on yourself.

This is what you pay an insurance company for. You pay them the premium each year.

All you need to do..................
Supply your insurance company with the name, address, and drivers license information of the other car.
Give your insurance company a statement of what occured.

Thats all you need to do.
Its up to your insurance company to recover funds , from her insurance company. Its NOT your job.
You should not even be talking about it.

Her insurance company being unable to find her is IRRELEVANT to you.
Thats their problem. Its also the problem of your insurance company to track her down.

You pay your insurance company. Put it on them, to chase for reimbusement of funds.
You have dont what is spcified on your policy.
To give details of the other driver, their insurance, and what happened.
It means your covered.

Be more firm with your own insurance company. Its their job to chase things up like that, not for you to worry.
They fix your car and thats it.

Stop being so understandable of both insurance companies scenario.
Its their problem