Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

a elderly women was driving and it was my turn to turn well she drove into my lane and hit my car there is some damage to the car and we pulled to the side and she gave me all her information she told me that she would pay all the damage so today i went to go get a estimation on how much the damage will cost i told her and she called the insurance and then i called the insurance and they had told me she is denying that she drove into my lane and now she doesnt want to pay the damage she said not to call her again and let our insurance fix it well i have no problem with the insurance will pay the damage to my car but i want her to tell the truth and right now i dont know what to do and she never asked me for my information but i want justice but what should i do


Asked on 6/19/13, 9:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

First of all, this is not an appropriate question for this category. This category concerns the law and ethics concerning the regulation of attorneys who practice law in the State of California. It has nothing to do with people being ethical or responsible on the street.

I am going to give you some general pointers, since one of my first jobs in the legal field was working for a personal injury attorney. At the scene of the accident, you should have exchanged names, addresses and insurance information. If she left the scene without providing you that information she could be charged with misdemeanor hit and run.

Second, you were both required to file an SR-1 with the DMV. Here is a link for information for that: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/sr/sr1.htm

If you have her information, you need to submit a claim with her insurance company. If you cannot settle the claim, you basically have a lawsuit against her for property damage. (It does not appear from your post that you claim personal injury.) Keep in mind that there is a two year statute of limitations for personal injury and three years for property damage in the State of California. That is a time limit that states that you must file a lawsuit before those times run from the date of the accident.

There are attorneys who handle claims like this, and will do so on a contingency fee, but will take a portion of the settlement as their fee.

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Answered on 6/20/13, 3:46 pm


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