Questioni was recently in an accident involving a driver of a stage coach company while i was out of state on vacation in nevada. i was stopped on a main road, and the driver pulled out of a shopping center clipping my left rear bumper. we pulled over and exchanged information. he admitted fault to the whole incident. the police was also called, but a report wasnt filed because the officer felt that the damage didnt exceed $750. i have a written statement from the driver admitting fault. after getting home from vacation, i called his insurance company to file a claim. its been 3 weeks, and the claim is still open. his insurance is saying they cant do anything without a statement from their insured. theyve said theyve called and left voicemails, but havent been able to get a statement. ive called numerous times to find out the progression of the claim, but the claims adjuster doesnt answer the phone or return my phone calls. i live in az and the stagecoach company is in ca. its been three weeks and it feels like the insurance company is giving me the cold shoulder. what rights do i have in this matter? should i file a small claims case with the court, and who should i file it against; the driver, the stage coach company, or the insurance company? its very frustrating when it feels like there isnt anything i can do to get my truck fixed. any advice would be much appreciated thanks.
AnswerHi Sak,
I share your frustration because Doctor Settlement handled personal injury claims where the tortfeasor tried to hide out and would not talk to his insurance company. In that kind of situation, the insurance company IS NOT AT FAULT. In fact, if they paid your claim without input from their insured, the company would be violating a duty owed to their insured. The only purpose of insurance is to pay in lieu of your obtaining a judgment and making the tortfeasor pay. Hence, they have no duty whatsoever to you if their insured will not speak with them.
Here is what I would recommend. We will use a four-pronged approach. If you NEED to get your vehicle fixed soon, then go ahead and use your own company. I would report it as an Uninsured Motorist Claim (UIM) since there is no evidence that there is any insurance on the other side that is ready to respond. That could also save you your deductible. Of course your company is going to try to make it a collision claim, wherein you will pay a deductible. But why not try for a UIM since in fact there IS not any insurance answering up as of now.
By the way, using your own insurance like that WILL NOT increase your insurance rates since this is NOT an at-fault accident. Hence, you need not worry about any negative aspects of using your own insurance, other than your deductible.
Second, it appears that this driver is trying to keep his job with his employer and he has not reported the accident to his employer. In that case, send him a certified letter of a copy that you intend to send to his employer, and offer him to avoid the insurance and avoid his employer if he will pay in cash. He should respond ASAP. If he does, not, then go ahead and send the certified letter to his employer demanding payment. BTW, this is a prerequisite to bringing a claim in a small claims court, so you may as well get it done now.
Third, if that does not work, I would figure out which state that driver is licensed in and call their Department of Financial Responsibility and ALSO I would call the Nevada Department of Financial Responsibility. Figure out where in the state agencies that department exists. In some states it is in the Department of Motor Vehicles and in other states it is in the Department of Licensing.
The one with the best jurisdiction will be the state in which the accident occurred, although the state that issued his license will also have jurisdiction. What you are trying to do is to SUSPEND HIS LICENSE UNTIL HE POSTS FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. They will have a form to fill out and you will say that there is no insurance that is answering up for the accident: hence, he is uninsured.
Then that department will suspend his driving license until he pays for the damages, or posts the money into a bank account. Thereafter he may also have to secure an expensive SR-22 filing with his insurance, so it will behoove him to cooperate.
Third, of course, is to commence an action in the district court with jurisdiction over the tortfeasor. You need to ask for the clerk of the court to ask about jurisdiction. She will be most helpful, and she will show you how to make your filing via fax. But jurisdiction could be a problem with small claims. Here is the problem with small claims court: they are what we call a court of "limited jurisdiction". Their jurisdiction is limited to the county.
Hence, if in fact the driver is from Nevada in the county of the accident, they will have jurisdiction. But if the driver lives in another county or out of state, the small claims court has no jurisdiction. In that case you will have to seek a court of what we call "general jurisdiction", also known as a "court of record". In fact, that could be one of two courts: either the county in which the accident occurred, OR the county in which the tortfeasor resides, even if it is California. But the filing fees alone, and the hassle of filing are not worth it in such a small case.
Another tactic is to seek jurisdiction over the stage coach line if they do have an office in the county of the accident. You can sue them in small claims court in that county.
By the way, the judges in small claims court may or may not agree to hear your case via written documents or via phone. I do know of a great many small claims courts that will NOT require the out of state plaintiff to appear in person. So be sure to ask about that with the clerk of the court.
After going thru all of this, my BOTTOM LINE is to simply do one of two things and he will get with his insurer right quick:
(1) send a demand letter to him for quick response, or if he fails, then to his employer; and/or
(2) send the driver a certified letter with the form of the Department of Financial Responsibility for his state.
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
Best Wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com
