Auto Insurance Claims: Parked Car Hit without insurance, insurance question, step dad

Question
QUESTION: My car was hit in the parking lot a week after insurance expired. However, my insurance had expired a week before and I did not renew it because I was going to sell the car and no-one was to drive the car. I talked the parents of guy( who is 20yrs of age) who hit my car and they said it is our own problem since we did not have insurance. Also this 20 yr old guy towed my car to the mcdonalds and its been sitting there for a almost a month. Is there anyway we can sue the guy for costs??or we pretty much hit a dead end without the insurance. Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Lolo,

Absolutely you can sue him. You need to take pictures of your damaged car. You need to get an estimate of the cost of repairs from a body shop. Then you file suit. However, you need to understand that even if you win in court it does not mean that you automatically get money. Winning in court gets you a judgement that you then have to collect on. If the kid did not have any insurance then he likely does not have any money either. You would have to file your judgement with the county and then he would not he able to buy or sell anything of value unless he pays you for 10 years.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for responding. It seems like the kid had insurance on his car and the insurance wont pay costs to my car since I did not have insurance. In Michigan they have a no-fault policy. I cant even locate the Kid and the only person I'm in contact with is his step-dad who is so difficult to deal with and will not answer my calls or his door! He doesn't want me to get in touch with the kid myself which sucks coz this is none of his business at all. I am just going to go ahead and file a suit at the court. I don't even know if the Macdonald towing will give me my car unless I pay for storage..I really cannot believe this is happening. It is a nightmare.

I appreciate your assistance. Thank you

Answer
Hi Lolo,

I did not realize you were in Michigan. You are correct, Michigan is a no-fault state which means that you must go through your own insurance for your property damage. Before you file suit you may want to check with a Michigan attorney to be sure you can file suit since you did not have your own coverage.

Good luck with it.
Richard Hixenbaugh