QuestionI was in a car accident last October 2010 where I was going straight thru a green light and from the opposite site the oncoming driver turned left right into me causing me to go off road and tap a tree. The police report said I was not at fault and it was the oncoming drivers fault for not yielding the right of way. Since then I contacted my insurance and my lawyer who is helping me thru the the process as I am a young driver. I have neck injuries and back injuries that still persist to this date and I attend physiotherapy weekly. I live in Ontario, Canada where we have a fault based insurance system where your own insurance covers your own costs and you don't cover the other persons costs.
P.S. I was never speeding and I had my lights on. I was obeying all the laws of the road and I don't drive like an idiot. I care for the safety of people around me.
The car I was driving was my car that was given to me from my dad but it was under his name. When we received money for the car it went all to my dad and I had to save and save for body shop work to repair the car all by myself with no help. I was quoted around a $3500 repair, probably more as it was thru pictures only.
Onto my problem:
I feel that I have been robbed of my car and I can never get it back and if I do I will have a large dent in my pocket since I am in college and need that type of money for tuition and books. My lawyer is going to help me sue the person who hit me but it's taking so long. I haven't tried contacting the person personally and see if they would offer to repair my car or not as they hit me. I will be needing a car to drive to 50KM away from me. I'd prefer not to sue them because I'm not that type of guy but I also don't want to pay for a $3500+ repair that I never had too. My insurance company said they would not pay for the repair as it wasn't worth it but it's not like the car has frame damage or was flipped.
Onto my question:
I really loved that car and I put a lot of money into it replacing almost everything mechanical from the distributor to multiple engine parts and such and has been in my family for a LONG time.
1 ) Should I ask the person and see if they are willing to repair my car?
2 ) Sue them for damages to my car and long term damage to my neck and back?
3 ) Anything else I can do?
Forgot to say, I am really emotionally attached to this car. I had nightmares for months of what happened until February of 2011 where they started to fade. I have been through a lot with this car since I was a little kid and I really DO NOT want to lose it.
AnswerJosh,
Even though I'm scared to say it, I'm going to . . . you're too emotional about your car! Seriously, I understand the sentimental, but there is just no way to put a dollar figure on that, and nobody except you would value the vehicle more. That loss is one that you'd have to include in "emotional distress" due to the accident, and your attorney should be all over that one. Frankly, I fear there is not a lot you can do in this situation to make the accident and damages more bearable.
If you're in a no-fault jurisdiction, there are likely laws that restrict your ability to sue the other driver. I'm really just guessing until I see a policy and review Canadian no fault regulations. Also, since the vehicle was deemed unrepairable, the money you paid to your dad was meant to pay for the value of the car (less it's salvage value), so there's no more money with that policy for the property damage unless you have some loss of use coverage or some similar type of coverage like uninsured motorists or the Canadian equivalent (again depending on no fault laws/regulations).
If you have an attorney, why isn't he/she advising you about your property damage rights? I'm not an expert in Canadian insurance laws or their tort system, but in my experience it is substantially similar to tort laws in the U.S. Normally, no fault laws mean "no suing", but that is not always the case. Without providing legal guidance or interpretation of Canadian laws, I cannot assist you, and I am not qualified to give legal interpretations as I am not a licensed attorney. I hope this helps with your issues.
