Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York
Hi, my husband was in a car accident 2 weeks ago. We do not have collision insurance. The accident was not my husband fault. The other driver who hit him was uninsured. He did, however, give my husband his personal information (name, address, phone#) but he did not want to stick around for the police to come and he left the scene. Now when we try to call him he does not pick up. The damages to our car are about $2,000.00. What can we do to get the money back? Is suing our only option? We live in NY and we heard of something called uninsured motorist fund but I cannot find anything online. Please help us. Thank you!
3 Answers from Attorneys
Uninsured motorist coverage is only applicable to personal injuries in case the offending vehicle is uninsured. Your only option is to sue; never leave the scene of an accident without notifying law enforcement. Chances are even if you initiate an action against the culprit, you will not see a dime.
Without his license plate number, there's no way to know if he was truly uninsured. This is a good lesson for people who get snookered into believing someone at fault in a car accident is going to keep their word and pay for the damages to your vehicle. 9/10 times, it DOES NOT HAPPEN. (1) Exchange insurance information; (2) Exchange Driver's License information; (3) Exchange License Plate information; (4) Take photos. If the person does not provide any of the first three, immediately call the police.
Good luck!
You can sue in Small Claims Court, up to $5,000, however, I think your chances of recovery are pretty slim.
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