QuestionQUESTION: Ok my nephew borrowed my car and was in a accident he rear ended another vehicle it was his fault. so i turned it into my insurance i only had libality but it paid to fix the other car, it done some pretty bad damage to mine i have had it repaired took me 2 months to buy parts and have it fixed costed me over 2,000, he has refused to help me pay for having it repaired can i take him to small claims court to help get me back some of the cost to me for repairing my car? should i seek a lawyer?
ANSWER: Sorry for the delayed response.
I have to know the state where this occurred to answer appropriately.
In general, you can indeed sue the driver for negligence. Insurance is a different story, but for your damages, you should be able to sue the negligent driver and at least win a judgment.
I hope this helps.
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QUESTION: The accident happened in Ky. ok i am kind of slow to legal matters sorry i apologize, so i can take him to small claims court and sue him ? what is a judgment? can i collect for the repairs? and what do you mean insurance is a different story please explain? and also my insurance has gone up as a result of this accident can i sue for that to since it was all his fault?
ANSWER: Well, in KY, the maximum amount you can sue for in small claims court is $1500.00. If your damages are more than that, then if you sue for $1500.00 you are filing false paperwork. It seems you'll have to get an attorney involved.
A judgment is the piece of paper that the judge signs that says who won the lawsuit.
Insurance rules normally put liability on you. When one allows another to drive their vehicle, they are responsible for the actions of the driver. Insurance considers your nephew a covered person and if you had collision coverage on your policy, the insurance company would likely be barred from pursuing the damages from the driver.
I don't mean to be insensitive, but I would suggest you don't loan your vehicle to anybody. If there is a wreck, this is the type of thing that happens. It is hard to collect from an individual. Your nephew has no vehicle or insurance of his own? If he does, file a claim against his policy.
You can sue for your rates going up, but I doubt you will recover anything. You let him drive, you are a higher risk because of your decision to allow another person to drive who wrecked.
I hope this helps.
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QUESTION: you say i can file a claim against his insurance policy. how can i go about doing that or can i do that since my insurance has already paid for the car he hit?
AnswerSure, you can file a claim against his (the driver of your car) insurance. Whether they will pay or not will depend on policy language and financial responsibility laws. Your insurance has paid for your liability (letting him drive). His insurance needs to pay for his liability, damaging your vehicle. If he (nephew) was at fault then the other driver's insurance company would not be involved.
I hope this makes sense!
