QuestionI was involved in a hit and run accident on July 14,2009. At the time of the accident my car insurance had lapsed due to a nsf check. The people who was in the car ran and the police later found them, but the owner of the car claimed that the car was stolen. Some people told us because I didn't have any insurance so I couldn't file a claim. But doing some further investigation, according to the "no pay no play" law in Louisiana it excludes my situation. I believe its to late for me to sue but can I still file a claim against his insurance? I also have a police report as well. He stated that the car wasn't insured at the time but he did have another car that was insured at the time. I am also still paying a note on the Totaled wreck car,and also paying for it to get fixed! Please tell me their is something I can do!!
Answer Hello Shay,
Bear in mind, I am not a lawyer, however the Louisiana "no pay - no play" law seems to state that if you do not have liability insurance at the time of an accident, you cannot collect full benefits even if you are not at fault. It states specifically that you cannot collect the first $10K of benefits for either property damages or personal injury. If your damages exceed $10K, you can collect from the at fault driver's liability insurance for the balance that exceeds $10K.
As to the story about the car being stolen, I assume it has been established that such is not true.
Can you sue? Not sure why you would. If your damages exceed $10K you can file a claim against the at fault party's auto liability insurance. That company will confirm if there was coverage at the time for the car involved. And, by the way, I am assuming the other driver was at fault.
If the other driver was not insured, then you might have the option to sue him - assuming he has any assets. For legal information, you will have to get a legal opinion.
Hope this helps.
Jane Pytel
http://SolutionsForYourInsuranceClaim.com
http://FloridaAutoInsuranceCentral.com
