Small Claims Court Question

[bmac]

So I was in an accident a few months back. My insurance came back as a undefinable fault and that I’m stuck paying my deductible. I feel they were at fault as I was turning left from a through road at a T intersection into a parking lot and he was turning left out of said lot that was stop sign controlled (his leg only). Damage to my truck was the drivers left taillight and bumper ripped off, and he had damage down his truck from roughly front to back tire. Police not called since parking lot but I have pictures where my truck stayed once accident happened as well as debris field from the light and other parts of truck torn off.

Since my insurance basically went no where, I’m stuck with him or trying to go to small claims court to get judgement.

So to the questions. If I take him to small claims court I see they have the right to move to his county.

Can I request costs for travel (240 miles to his county) and lost wages back as part of my claim if I have to travel or take off work?

Do I just seek my deductible or can you seek other damages since my insurance has now gone up? They paid 4/5 of the repair cost so far, but didn’t want to have to pay them for some odd reason if I win.

Do you have to list their insurance or just them personally and the claim?

I know people can’t give “legal” advise but sure some might have dealt with this before.

[Walker]

You'll never even break even. A lot of you will probably laugh but I watch people's court almost every day. You won't get milage, you won't get loss of wages for pursuing a case

[JWAIV]

Really not worth the battle and no guarantee you would even win. Most of the time you will not get reimbursed for costs associated with doing business, such as travel and time off. You made the choice to pursue the “small” claim. Another thing going against you is the insurance ruling no fault.

[stevieray54]

You may win in Quick Claims court, no guarantee that you’ll ever get paid. Then you can file a lean against his property and if he ever sells it he has to pay you. Unless he changes it to his wife or someone else’s name.

[Traildust]

Waste of your time. I went down that rabbit hole once. Never again

[db@100]

He either ran his stop sign or you cut the corner to sharp. I think it would be his word against yours.

[randal]

Not even worth it..

[Johnny Dangerr]

Waste of your time. I went down that rabbit hole once. Never again

Yup. Walk away...

[Texastaxi]

Even if you win, there's a good chance you'll never get paid.

When you weigh your expenses vs your deductible vs not getting paid, you'll see it's not worth it.

[GarGuy]

If you filed insurance, any amount recovered will belong to your insurance company, including your deductible.

[locolobo]

You may win in Quick Claims court, no guarantee that you’ll ever get paid. Then you can file a lean against his property and if he ever sells it he has to pay you. Unless he changes it to his wife or someone else’s name.

I don't know if it's the same in all places but In my county, If you file a lien on a small claims court claim that was not paid, the lien is good for only a year. To keep it going after that, you have to re-instate lien and it costs $ to do so.It is every year after that. I've been there and it was not worth it.

[bigjohntex]

Well, I went through a lady running a stop sign and causing a major accident last October. It was her fault, she had no valid insurance but had a brand new house just completed. SMH. At least I had a police report blaming her. I let my insurance handle everything. It was well over $40,000 after totalled vehicle, lost time and medical bills. I may never get my deductible back? But, I feel sure the insurance will try to get something out of them. It just wasn't worth the hassle to go after them myself.

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[cehorn]

Been there. Insurance is a crooked game. Or at the least a lazy game. Much easier for them to do no fault than do the work and decide fault.

[bmac]

Small Claims Court Question

Thanks for all the input.

Well I’m going to try direct with his insurance and made some plots of the accident as well as pictures I took before I moved my vehicle. Not sure they have seen pictures and should tell the story pretty clear with debris field and showing the stop sign from his approach. Figure if this doesn’t work, maybe I’m best to chalk this up to I hate a lying thief as that’s what they are at this point.


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[wes122984]

I recently had trouble with an insurance company they didn’t want to pay diminished value claiming there was none. I sent them a copy of a letter I found online that basically was addressed to their driver stating their insurance refused to pay therefore my only recourse was to sue them directly for the diminished value. They could either contact their insurance and get them on board or expect to be served.

I got paid the next day.