Compensation for lost income?

[Fllay]

Somebody hit my car last week. It was parked in front of my residence. The guy was probably drunk; I could smell it in his breath. He assured me he wouldn't screw me over. He also begged me not to call the cops. He was deciding whether to pay me up front in cash or go through his insurance agency. I got his driver license, his insurance policy, his phone numbers, and his address. The was also a witness. I later reported the incident to the police 2 hrs later.

Anyway, I received the estimation from the autobody shop today. It comes to ~ $5,000; he decided to go through his insurance. The question is it fair to ask him compensation for the time I lost, stress, et cetera? (The insurance company will not pay for those.) I missed work and my friend had to drive me to work for 3 days in a row. I couldn't get the insurance to pay for the car rental either; that will have to wait until I drop off my car at the body shop for 2 weeks. (The auto shop cannot fix my car until the middle of May. The policeman even said that normally the waiting time is around 3 months.)

So, is it fair for me to ask him for some compensation that is not covered by the insurance? If the answer is yes, what amount will be appropriate? Some of my friends suggested I get a lawyer and sue him. I don't really want this to get that far. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

[weedb0y]

I doubt you can pursue your lost income though. You can possibly get him to pay for rental for the 3 days. $45x3 or so. Every thing else must be claimed through your insurance company. There are 100s of bodyshops out there, if one cannot fix it for till middle of may, then its your choice and insurance will assume that you can easily drive that car around (otherwise you would want to get it fixed right away and they will ont start the rental until then).

I used to work with insurance companies int he past and its in your best interest to contact the next bodyshop. Your adjuster can send you to their authorized shops as well. From top of my head, some of the bodyshops I dealth with were oaktown collision, b&g and others..

[Pete_Coach]

You can ask him for anything but he can tell you to get lost. Your only recourse is to take him to court and win.
If you are not getting a rental car while you wait for repairs, then it is your insurance coverage that is lacking. If your car is sitting around for a long time, at the body shop, waiting to be repaired (assuming you cannot drive it), then you should be covered.

[iluvmikeharris]

You should be ashamed of yourself for not calling the police if you suspected he was intoxicated.

The only entitlement for loss of income is for disability resulting from accidents, that's paid by your own insurance company, and it's capped at about $400 a week unless you've pruchased additional coverage.

[Jayme_Reid]

Somebody hit my car last week. It was parked in front of my residence. The guy was probably drunk; I could smell it in his breath. He assured me he wouldn't screw me over. He also begged me not to call the cops. He was deciding whether to pay me up front in cash or go through his insurance agency. I got his driver license, his insurance policy, his phone numbers, and his address. The was also a witness. I later reported the incident to the police 2 hrs later.

Anyway, I received the estimation from the autobody shop today. It comes to ~ $5,000; he decided to go through his insurance. The question is it fair to ask him compensation for the time I lost, stress, et cetera? (The insurance company will not pay for those.) I missed work and my friend had to drive me to work for 3 days in a row. I couldn't get the insurance to pay for the car rental either; that will have to wait until I drop off my car at the body shop for 2 weeks. (The auto shop cannot fix my car until the middle of May. The policeman even said that normally the waiting time is around 3 months.)

So, is it fair for me to ask him for some compensation that is not covered by the insurance? If the answer is yes, what amount will be appropriate? Some of my friends suggested I get a lawyer and sue him. I don't really want this to get that far. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.


There is really no grounds to sue him.If he said he was not going to not pay for the car to be fixed then yes.But you really can not have him pay and then turn around and sue him.Even if you did go that route courts will award lost wages due to injurys.They will not award you due to this.You can ask him as for how much say you make 16 a hour times 8 hours a day so ask faiir $384.

[Pete_Coach]

There is really no grounds to sue him.If he said he was not going to not pay for the car to be fixed then yes.But you really can not have him pay and then turn around and sue him.Even if you did go that route courts will award lost wages due to injurys.They will not award you due to this.You can ask him as for how much say you make 16 a hour times 8 hours a day so ask faiir $384.

Huh??

[Jayme_Reid]

Huh??

You can not sue if you have no injurys.

[Pete_Coach]

You can not sue if you have no injurys.

Sure you can.
You can go to small claims court and may get money back if the sale person sold you the wrong underwear. If you lose, you got tight shorts and pay court costs.

[TrevorK]

If you can prove that you have lost income because of the accident then I would advise taking him to small claims court. If his negligence costs you money then you will be able to recover it.

[Gloaming]

This is Karma's way of telling you to call the cops next time a drunk hits you.

[kcorscadden]

Don't wait around for the body shop, like Weedboy said, call another shop and ask them how long. Never settle for waiting for a body shop.

If you thought the guy was intoxicated, you should have called the police ASAP. The guy was probably playing the sympathy card and was begging you to not call the cops and you bought it hook/line and sinker.

As for compensation, that is why you pay for insurance. Insurance is around to protect you and your vehicle. As for time lost compensation, there isn't much you can do. You can take the guy to court if you want, but I am pretty sure it will be tossed out. A lawyer would simply gobble up any money that you make, which is highly unlikely.

[Fllay]

Thank you so much everyone. I'll call the other body shops on Monday ASAP.

My friends made me felt guilty too, about not calling the cops. They told me how this guy can be hurting other people again in the future, et cetera. It's just that the guy put on a really sorry face. Plus, he told me that he could have just hit and run, but he didn't, blah blah blah... I feel sorry for people easily; that's one of my major weaknesses that I need to work on.

It's been a very bad year for me so far. I lent a guy $500, which I never get back. The sad part was I used to give him a ride to work for 2 months and I never charge him anything. How could a guy like that exist? Before that, my roommate went crazy after she got an abortion. Bad things happen, I guess. Hopefully, things will get better from now on.

[weedb0y]

Thank you so much everyone. I'll call the other body shops on Monday ASAP.

My friends made me felt guilty too, about not calling the cops. They told me how this guy can be hurting other people again in the future, et cetera. It's just that the guy put on a really sorry face. Plus, he told me that he could have just hit and run, but he didn't, blah blah blah... I feel sorry for people easily; that's one of my major weaknesses that I need to work on.

It's been a very bad year for me so far. I lent a guy $500, which I never get back. The sad part was I used to give him a ride to work for 2 months and I never charge him anything. How could a guy like that exist? Before that, my roommate went crazy after she got an abortion. Bad things happen, I guess. Hopefully, things will get better from now on.

You are a nice person. Don't let bunch of fools bring you down. Nice people in this world are a rare commodity. ;) Karma will catch up. I would advise you to get your car in the bodyshop (even if they dont work on it for next year or so!!, you will get rental until then..lol)..but as long as its not in the bodyshop, you cannot claim anything.

Insurance companies are out there to save their assets a well and as you can see, they are experts at it. lol