QUESTION
How do I deal with an auto insurance claim with no personal auto insurance?
Asked on Oct 24th, 2012 on Personal Injury - Texas
More details to this question:
About a year and three months ago I had a minor incident with my bike and a vehicle. Details aside, as the vehicle was pulling out to a crosswalk, the drive abruptly pulled forward even further as I was nearing the crosswalk, causing me to make an emergency turn. The side of my bike scratched his door as a result. The reason I cannot hold a valid position myself is that, while not enforced on our local campus, biking on sidewalks is illegal. I had no auto insurance of my own so I could not give the driver any information regarding that. When I prompted my parents, they told me to completely ignore the persons involved and terminate all communications with them. Skip to a year and three months later and a collections agency sends me mail acting in regard of State Farm trying to recover the total cost of damages, roughly 2k. While I do not feel morally obligated to pay this entire amount, nor do I feel it is fair to lay this entire burden on me, I do not believe I can dispute this claim in court due to some legal technicalities. So with no auto insurance of my own, as with family declining to give that information, how should I proceed?
4 ANSWERS
Ronald A. Steinberg
Tell the collection agency to file suit. Get a lawyer. You will probably have to work out a deal, because if you were riding on the sidewalk and it was not legal to do so, that is probably considered to be "evidence of negligence," on your part. If the car was on the public roadway, it had the right of way (because you were not legal), and so you probably are going to lose. A lawyer can help you negotiate; in addition, the lawyer may actually be able to come up with a defense for you.
Answered on Oct 30th, 2012 at 10:00 PM
Assault Attorney serving Richardson, TX
2 Awards
You may or may not be sued. There is no obligation to pay the collection company and if they will not settle for what you can afford you can wait to see if an attorney files suit. If that happens, you or your attorney can negotiate or try the case on a contributory negligence theory.
Answered on Oct 26th, 2012 at 9:39 PM
Were you ever contacted by State Farm before this Collection Agency tried to call you? Were you sued over this? Were you served with a complaint and did you ignore it? These are some of the questions I would need answers to in order to more fully respond. It would seem to me a collection agent would have to a judgment against you in order to collect from you, otherwise, you are not obligated to pay them absent some agreement that you would.
Answered on Oct 26th, 2012 at 8:39 PM
Litigation Attorney serving San Antonio, TX
at
Graves Law Firm
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If you can continue to ignore them until two years after the incident, the statute of limitations will bar their claim IF YOU ARE IN TEXAS. THE LIMITATIONS PERIOD IS DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT STATES. They may conclude that they're unlikely to get anything out of you since you have no money. The worst that can happen is that you might be sued in small claims court or county court.
Answered on Oct 26th, 2012 at 7:55 PM