What can I do if I was rear-ended by a vehicle whose driver claimed to have insurance but in reality didn’t since it had lapsed?
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What can I do if I was rear-ended by a vehicle whose driver claimed to have insurance but in reality didn’t since it had lapsed?
After filing my claim and their insurer coming out and taking pictures, they contacted me a week later saying that the insurance had lapsed. I need to take them to small claims court but I cannot afford to fix the damage on my car. Can I junk the car and sue them for blue book or should I get an estimate on repairs, junk the car and sue them for the estimate? The car is not in a legally driveable condition.
Asked on July 13, 2014 under Accident Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
If the car can be fixed for less than the current blue book value, you may *not* junk or total the car and sue for the full blue book value; rather, if the car can be economically repaired (for less than its current value), you have to repair it--or rather, if can be economically repaired, all you can recover is the repair cost, regardless of what in fact end up doing with the car.
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