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 The other driver was at fault, but did not have valid insurance and his registration was out of date.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,