Victim of hit & run - Input appreciated.

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Probably a DUI/DWI and didn't want to get caught ... and was close to home.

FWIW ... I believe in Georgia ... the insurance is on the car and not the individual ... but the owner can be held responsible beyond insurance coverage.
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This. Won't help today, but more than liability only is really a good idea.

Even if they hit you, you get your insurance to fix the car quickly, then your insurance company goes after the offender. If it wasn't your fault, then your premiums won't go up, and you don't have to spend time/money/effort going after the guy who hit you.

It was a short comment, but it really is a good thing to do. This whole problem goes away if you have comprehensive coverage.

The whole legal process can take a long time, and even if the guy is found guilty and you're entitled to damages, actually GETTING the money is a whole different story. Best of luck to you. Hope he just confesses and settles out of court. That's the best all around outcome.

 

UPDATE:

I finally heard back from the investigator regarding this case.
According to the registered owner of the vehicle, she was selling (or just sold) the vehicle but did not give the DMV the "transfer of liability". So she is liable. The lady was behind on her payments and the truck was about to get repo'd. Well neither the registered owner nor the "recent buyer" took the vehicle out of the impound - the repo company did. I'm waiting to hear back from the investigator to get more detailed information.

In my opinion, the lady let her son or nephew or some relative borrow it. When they knew it was impounded, they said screw it - it's going to get repo'd anyway.

I have the registered owner and her address now. Would it be legal for me to go to her place, or call her (I gathered her information from a website that provides peoples personal info) and tell her that she is held liable and that either she pays for the damages out of pocket or that i'm going to sue her? I doubt suing would be cost-effective but hopefully she will rather pay out of pocket and not get dragged into court.

Any thoughts?

 

Is your truck fixed? How much did it cost you?

If she was behind on her payments and couldn't afford her car, you aren't going to get anything out of her. You would put more time, money, and effort than it is worth. I would not bother if your truck has been fixed by your insurance and cost you your deductible out of pocket. Give the info to your insurance and move on, let them deal with it.

If your truck is not fixed, what is the estimate? If it is substantial damage and effects the way it drives, then pursue, if it is cosmetic then you got screwed but it will save you the head ache of going after her.

 

Is the other vehicle even insured? I would think go after their insurance, and let their insurance go after them. I'm not sure how it would work though being hit and run. When I got hit, the other driver got the citation. I never talked to the other person, just their insurance company.

 

It's probably not cost effective for you to sue unless it's a large sum of money. I doubt a lawyer would pursue it too hard (not much money for them to get). It's probably a small claims court case (no lawyers).

Just for information sake, according to this site, in California, insurance follows the car not the driver unless there is an exclusion:
http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/ca--who-is-responsible-for-an-accident-if-the-driv-327415.html

 

I know if your parked on a street you park at your own risk, you maybe sol.

 

Wut

 

Driving is done at your own risk, but that doesn't mean no one is responsible.

 

No, it wasn't my truck that got hit - it was my wife's car.

That is exactly what the investigator told me. "You could sue her if you want but it doesn't look like you're going to get much, if anything, out of her since it doesn't look like she has much."
Luckily the damage was only cosmetic, or so we hope since the hit wedged our car against the curb. I haven't had it checked out but it doesn't have any vibes or anything out of the norm. We have the very basic insurance coverage and so our policy does not cover property damage to our vehicle.

FYI - It's an older vehicle that I only use to commute to work (4cyl). High mileage & is not in the best of shape anyway - that is why I am not absolutely outraged and also the reason that it only has the very basic insurance coverage. My truck has full coverage

I'm going to speak to the investigator later today to get more information. She didn't tell me whether the vehicle was insured or not. The lady supposedly had recently sold it and forgot or just didn't fill out the transfer of liability like she should have. <-- I call BS.

I agree - it won't be cost effective for me to sue her. But if it's not illegal to do so, I hope to call this lady and try & bluff her by saying I have spoken to a lawyer and I will be suing her unless she agrees to 'settle out of court' with me and just pay for the repairs rather than go through all the legal process.

Unfortunately, I am SOL. I am just glad it appears to only be cosmetic damage. So i'm just hoping I can get a hold of this person and get her to agree to pay for the repairs.

 

Good luck whatever you do.

 

never hurts to try and bluff her, nothing to lose.