Accident with an uninsured, unregistered driver

[Super_Geo]

Over the weekend my mom got into a car accident. The other driver was at fault, but did not have valid insurance and his registration was out of date.

The police were involved and he is definitely at fault... he was making a left turn, my mom had the right-of-way and the green light, had to slam on her brakes and she still hit him. His car was impounded due to the lack of insurance/registration. He does have a valid driver's license.

She called me for advice, as she doesn't have full coverage with her insurance company. I was surprised and asked her why she only had PL/PD, she said in 30 years of driving she has never been at fault in an accident so why bother... well, I guess this would be one of those times.

I told her that chances are she will have to sue the guy to get the repair cost covered. She told me the bumper, grille and hood would need to be replaced... she drives an 04 Camry, I'm guessing it will be at least $3k if it's only the bumper/grille/hood that needs to be replaced, and up to $8-10k depending on how bad the it is.

Is there a way to get the insurance company to cover this? If not, how hard would it be to sue this guy? Would we be able to sue for medical expenses? My mom has had a history neck/back pain (has been going to the chiropractor regulairly for years now), could a lawsuit recover any additional costs, or would her insurance company cover this? (ie: she used to spend $400/month on chiro, now she needs to spend $800/month, or whatever).

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

[ercchry]

i believe there is a fund for this type of thing and the province will cover her? really is too bad insurance companies just do not care if you do not have full coverage...

[Cos]

I know this isnt going to be a huge help, but I think that you can sue the other driver and if the other driver doesnt have money I think the Ab gov has a fund set up (if she wins). Unless a PLPD policy has an uninsured drivers clause which would be in your paperwork anyways.

Shitty deal anyways, hope it works out for her.

[master hec0]

i was under the impression that uninsured motorist coverage was required in Alberta. i could be wrong.

[Weapon_R]

Your mother can be compensated for her injuries through the Alberta Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Fund. They will provide a lawyer to act on behalf of the defendant, and if/when a judgment or settlement is achieved, the Government will go after the uninsured driver for the money.

As for property damage, unless she has a clause in her own insurance that covers it, she is out of luck.

[e31]

I am really interested in the outcome of this situation. I had full collision insurance and when this happened to me, my insurance gave me the short end of the stick (and wasted 1 year coming to a conclusion). Even the ombudsman said "you're at the mercy of the adjuster".

Is the Alberta Motor Vehicles Accident Claims Fund for injuries only or does it cover property damage?

[Weapon_R]

Only for personal injury! There is no public fund for property damage guys.

[Super_Geo]

Thanks for the info guys.

I wasn't aware of the Accident Claims Fund, so it souns like any incremental medical expense should be covered, which is really good news.

I'm guessing that if the guy was driving around without insurance or registration he's not going to just hand over the money for the repairs out of the goodness of his heart... When I asked my mom what her plans were, she said that she was waiting for a quote on the repairs and if it was around the $3k mark then she would ask the guy to pay, and if he didn't then she would just pay out of pocket because she is completely unfamiliar with the legal system and is worried that the lawyer fees would be higher than anything we recoup.

Is this legitimate? If she sues and wins, can she recoup legal fees as well? And what's a ballpark guess on what legal fees would be in a case like this? This guy is 100% at fault and the cops showed up at the scene, so I'm hoping he has very little latitude on bullshiting his way out of this one.

I'm pretty pissed off that he might get away with paying for damages... if he knows the legal fees would eat up all the settlement then my guess is he'll tell us to get fucked.

[dandia89]

whats the use of insurance if they aren't helping the damages on your insured car

[Aleks]

Originally posted by dandia89
whats the use of insurance if they aren't helping the damages on your insured car

They didn't have collision coverage on the car. Only liability.

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by Super_Geo

Is this legitimate? If she sues and wins, can she recoup legal fees as well? And what's a ballpark guess on what legal fees would be in a case like this? This guy is 100% at fault and the cops showed up at the scene, so I'm hoping he has very little latitude on bullshiting his way out of this one.

In Canada, the winner gets to recover some of their fees. It's not the full fee, however. It's based on a scale found in the Alberta Rules of Court, and it's certainly not going to be the full legal bill. You will find the scale under schedule C, and they allow an individual to recover fees based on those numbers.

Budget around $5k to hire a lawyer at the very least. You can also do it yourself in provincial court if you prefer, and it will only cost you $100 to file the statement of claim.

[Super_Geo]

If the estimate for repairs is >60% of the value of the car (a real possibility if it needs body work or a shitload of things replaced, especially considering it's an older car), then it would be considered a write-off if the insurance company was handling it.

How would it go for suing the guy? Would you just sue for the replacement value?

Originally posted by Weapon_R


In Canada, the winner gets to recover some of their fees. It's not the full fee, however. It's based on a scale found in the Alberta Rules of Court, and it's certainly not going to be the full legal bill. You will find the scale under schedule C, and they allow an individual to recover fees based on those numbers.

Budget around $5k to hire a lawyer at the very least. You can also do it yourself in provincial court if you prefer, and it will only cost you $100 to file the statement of claim.

Thanks a lot man, good to know!

[quazimoto]

I would hardly call a 6 year old car older. They are still selling used in the 8-11k bracket which for a 6 year old vehicle isn't horrible.

This should be like the seinfeld episode though. They should force the mofo to slave for you for a couple years to pay for this.

Who in this day and age can't afford to get insurance? Was it a kid that hit her or was it actually an adult? I'd be shaking my head at an adult caught doing this.

Hopefully she wasn't injured in the crash as that would make it a literal nightmare to get anywhere. Hopefully they will eventually change the laws in our province so that driving without insurance carries jail time. It seems that's the only way people would actually take it seriously.

The number of tickets I've seen at provincial court for driving with no insurance when I was working down there was really mind boggling and it happens quite a bit every single day. This is usually what police officers do when they are stopped at lights. They physically check license plates for anything out of the ordinary.

[Khyron]

Did the driver at least get slapped with the 2500 fine?

Just as a side note, I hit a jaywalker once - not my fault but they totally damaged the front of my car. Nothing I can do except sue them and since they're already in traction for 3 months I didn't.

Point is I have collision on everything except <2000 beaters.