by kmherron » Sat Feb 14, 2009 07:35 pm
I've been on here discussing my husband's car accident from a couple of weeks ago in which his illegally parked car was totaled by a guy going 45 mph on a 2 lane road in dry, clear, normal conditions. Regardless of that situation, which we are trying to work out, it now appears that the police officer has falsified information.
When the accident occurred, the driver who hit our car told the office he didn't think he had insurance. The officer then took an insurance card from the guy, looked at it, wrote down the policy number, and handed it back, saying "you definitely have car insurance" not even bothering to type it into his system.
Now, when we get the police report to try to contact the other guy's insurance company, they say he is not a client of their's, never was and that the policy number is not even formated the way they do theirs (i.e. letter in wrong place, not enough numbers, etc.)
We have called the officer back, with no response. We have also called the guy who hit us (twice) with no response. We are now feeling that he probably does not have car ins. just like he said and we are going to talk to a lawyer on Monday, with the strong intent of bringing the police officer into it as well, seeing as he did not do what he was supposed to do (check the ins.) and that he wrote down the wrong info. and is unwilling to discuss the situation with us.
Do you think a lawyer is the right recourse now, or is there something else I should be doing instead? I don't want to harass the old guy who hit us. That might end up looking bad for us after awhile. However, his son said originally when he thought he did not have ins. that he wanted to "work something out" with my husband, and I feel like just the threat of a lawsuit might encourage him to be more open with us...any suggestions?
When the accident occurred, the driver who hit our car told the office he didn't think he had insurance. The officer then took an insurance card from the guy, looked at it, wrote down the policy number, and handed it back, saying "you definitely have car insurance" not even bothering to type it into his system.
Now, when we get the police report to try to contact the other guy's insurance company, they say he is not a client of their's, never was and that the policy number is not even formated the way they do theirs (i.e. letter in wrong place, not enough numbers, etc.)
We have called the officer back, with no response. We have also called the guy who hit us (twice) with no response. We are now feeling that he probably does not have car ins. just like he said and we are going to talk to a lawyer on Monday, with the strong intent of bringing the police officer into it as well, seeing as he did not do what he was supposed to do (check the ins.) and that he wrote down the wrong info. and is unwilling to discuss the situation with us.
Do you think a lawyer is the right recourse now, or is there something else I should be doing instead? I don't want to harass the old guy who hit us. That might end up looking bad for us after awhile. However, his son said originally when he thought he did not have ins. that he wanted to "work something out" with my husband, and I feel like just the threat of a lawsuit might encourage him to be more open with us...any suggestions?
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 02:54 am Post Subject: Talk it over, then get a lawyer
I don't know how much damage this gentleman did to your car, but I would talk with an attorney. You must be familiar with the laws in your state since your husband was already in the wrong by being parked illegally. Also, since you have an issue with the validity of your police report, I would discuss this with the attorney as well. Most attorneys offer an initial free consultation. Once you have this free meeting, you will be able to better determine the way to handle the situation overall.
promotional link removed as per TOS - Evan
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 06:11 am Post Subject:
What I would do is call the officers supervisor and let the supervisor know you've not gotten a return call. Let the supervisor know what you've found out and ask that they issue a citation for the person not having _valid_ insurance.
You should also contact your state and find out who handled automobile financial responsiblity. They will probably have a form you can fill out to report that you've not been paid by the other party. The state should then be able to suspend his license until he can show that you have been paid.
An attorney can file suit and obtain a judgement against a person. Most won't do this as they probably won't see a dime for their work for a long time or ever.
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 01:48 am Post Subject:
In most states, the police are not held responsible unless there are injuries; however, some officers will come out and give a police report. They can only take what information is given and they are not responsible for checking the validity of the insurance policy (active, still active, expired). So a person can get insurance, not pay the premium the next month and have his insurance expires, but still hold a card that says active. An officer is responsible for checking for a policy, but does not have a system to check to see if this is still an active policy. The only place you can get that is from the insurance company they are suppose to have insurance with. Their is a system that will tell you to whom they were last insured with and thats all. You will have to take this up with your insurance comany or an attorney who will investigate it all. They'll run the name, vin, etc through the system to see what insurance company shows up. they will take care of your vehicle if you have collision and subrogate to get the money from the other guy via his insurance or buy suing him. I'd try this route first.
Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:41 am Post Subject:
Hi,
They will probably have a form you can fill out to report that you've not been paid by the other party.
Would this one then go through some form of investigation? How much time do you think it would ideally take?
Roddick
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 03:09 pm Post Subject:
If he doesn't have insurance you are going to have to sue him. Plain and simple. The fact that the officer screwed up really has no bearing on the damage to your vehicle. And trying to drag the officer into this really won't help. Even if you are able to prove that the officer was negligent in his duties (which is a long shot) the fact remains that the old man damaged your car and with no insurance HE is the only one that is liable.
Hope this helps
Add your comment