If I was in an accident and it was not my fault but I do not have insurance, what should I do?
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If I was in an accident and it was not my fault but I do not have insurance, what should I do?
I was driving yesterday to work during the snow storm. We were on accident alert. I was on I 25 in the very far left lane. There was no one in front of me for a long way. I was in 4 WD so I know was going about 25 maybe less. It was really icy. A girl driving in the far right lane 5 lanes over slid over perpendicular to traffic and stopped in my lane. I couldn’t stop.
Asked on February 4, 2012 under Accident Law, Colorado
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you were not at fault in the accident, then the fact that you didn't have insurance won't have any effect. You should file a claim for the property damage to your vehicle with the other driver's auto insurance company. If the driver is not the registered owner of the vehicle, your claim would be filed with the registered owner's insurance company. If the at-fault party/registered owner did not have insurance, you will need to sue them for negligence. Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the cost of repairs to your car. You will need to mitigate (minimize) damages by selecting a repair shop whose charges are comparable to other repair shops in the area. If you were to select the most expensive repair shop you could find, your damages would be reduced accordingly. If you need a rental car while yours is being repaired, again you will need to mitigate damages by selecting a rental at a reasonable rate. If you were to select the most expensive rental car you could find, your damages would be reduced accordingly. Your rental car expense would be included in the damages you are seeking in your lawsuit for negligence. Depending on the total of your property damage and rental car cost, you may be able to file your lawsuit in Small Claims Court. Your damages should also include court costs such as the court filing fee and process server fee.
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