Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Ohio
Liability beyond insurance for ''at fault'' traffic accident.
Hello, my question is regarding
being struck by another driver,
who was insured, and had a small
inadequate company who
represented his policy, the claims
adjuster arrived a week after the
accident to review the damage
relevant to the accident, they
determined since I had it fixed,
and the shop kept no obvious
broken parts to review that they
owe nothing toward the bill for
repairs of what happened in the
accident. If I waited a week to
have a claims adjuster come
review the damage on my vehicle
I would have been charged
storage for my vehicle and had no
transportation, I did wait for three
days before getting it fixed
because they drug their feet to
come and review. So, is there any
recourse on the person who struck
me in small claims court to get the
bill paid for to repair what was
damaged? Or is this a waste of
time and I must now absorb the
cost of repair to my own vehicle
after he agreed he was at fault?
If you have any advice on these
types of situations I'd appreciate it.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Liability beyond insurance for ''at fault'' traffic accident.
Yes, you can sue the other driver (not the insurance carrier) in small claims court for an amount not exceeding $3,000. If you file in small claims court and the other driver notifies the insurance company of the lawsuit, the insurance company will likely be obligated to provide an attorney to the other driver. In that case, the insurance company may have a change of heart and pay the claim to avoid the cost of providing legal representation to its insured. However, if the damage to your vehicle is more than $3,000 OR if you sustained any injuries in the accident, you should contact an attorney in your area and should not file in small claims court.
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