What type of attorney do I need ?

[Mickalino]

I was the victim of a hit and run, which I identified the driver and filed a claim against his insurance for damage to my car.

The claim was denied, because according to them, there was a lack of evidence to show that it was his car that hit me.

I spoke to a supervisor at the insurance company's claim department, and they wouldn't budge.

I then filed a case with the State of Florida Insurance Commissioner, and they filed a case, but it was just a bunch of routine BS - all they did was contact the insurance company for their side of the story, which they repeated and my dispute was therefore denied.

Now my only choice is to take legal matters into my own hands, and sue the driver and/or his insurance company.

My question is, what type of attorney do I need ?

A civil attorney ?

Or one of those attornies on TV who take cases of people involved in a car accident - but all of those attornies seem to be looking for people who were injured. I was not injured - I just want compensation for the damage to my car, cause by this hit-and-run *****

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The first thing you need to do is file a police report. A hit and run is a crime, even if it is just property damage.

Once the police have filed their report, you can thing begin the claims process over again. That is the evidence you need.

[Mickalino]

The first thing you need to do is file a police report. A hit and run is a crime, even if it is just property damage.

Once the police have filed their report, you can thing begin the claims process over again. That is the evidence you need.

That was the first thing I did.....called the police right away, and they filed a report.

But they then contacted the other driver, and finally 10 days later he came to the police station, and denied there was an accident, and pointed to his car, which had no damage. Then the police report was revised, to show that it was "inconclusive". But this was 10 days later - I think he was given too much time to try to repair or conceal any damage to his car.

So the insurance company looked at the "revised and inconclusive" police report and said there was not enough evidence to hold him liable.

My car has paint on it that matches the color of his car.
That seems like pretty good evidence to me.
But they don't care.

[HOF44]

How much is the damage estimate to your car? The retainer for an atty. should be a few thousand dollars. Unless you want to spend a lot to prove a point, it might be cheaper to fix it yourself.

[Stophovr6]

Are the costs of a lawyer going to be worth it? How much damage does your car have? Can you drive it?

It sucks because at this point you're clearly getting screwed, at some point you just have to cut your losses and move on.

[Meskeet21]

you're screwed man

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

That was the first thing I did.....called the police right away, and they filed a report.

But they then contacted the other driver, and finally 10 days later he came to the police station, and denied there was an accident, and pointed to his car, which had no damage. Then the police report was revised, to show that it was "inconclusive". But this was 10 days later - I think he was given too much time to try to repair or conceal any damage to his car.

So the insurance company looked at the "revised and inconclusive" police report and said there was not enough evidence to hold him liable.

My car has paint on it that matches the color of his car.
That seems like pretty good evidence to me.
But they don't care.

Hmmm....How much damage are we talking about?

Your best bet may just be filing it under your own policy as "uninsurance." Maybe you can subrogate it, but you are probably going to pay more in fees and hassles than the damage was.

Your insurance company probably has a law firm that does its local work for them.

[Chachie]

Mick-

Are you the one that had this happen to you a while back and it was a very old man that did it?

[Dictator]

time to let it go.

[Kosher Ham]

I can not imagine that you do not have a camera phone.

You are likely going to get screwed in this deal.

[Burgold]

Okay, getting CSI here. Where was the hit and run? Was it at a store or mall where they may have security cameras? If so, it's very possible that the hit and run may have been recorded. You'd probably only get the make and model of the vehicle, but that may go into cooberating your story. Did you write down when it happened?

This may be looking for a needle in a haystack though.

[skinsfan_1215]

Okay, getting CSI here. Where was the hit and run? Was it at a store or mall where they may have security cameras? If so, it's very possible that the hit and run may have been recorded. You'd probably only get the make and model of the vehicle, but that may go into cooberating your story. Did you write down when it happened?

This may be looking for a needle in a haystack though.

If you really want to get into it, find out where the guy lives and steal his trash once he sets it on the street (that is legal). Dig through and see if you can find a bill or something from an auto repair place that he got his car fixed at.

[HOF44]

Okay, getting CSI here.

Come on Burgold, if you're gonna go all CSI do it right!

Hire a lawyer, obtain a warrant for a paint sample off the other car, take a sample of the paint smeared on your car. Send to a lab for analysis. If it's a match BAM! Sue him for repairs and the cost of the investigation.

Case closed.

[Rocky21]

Your best bet may just be filing it under your own policy as "uninsurance." Maybe you can subrogate it, but you are probably going to pay more in fees and hassles than the damage was.

Your insurance company probably has a law firm that does its local work for them.This is the right answer.

[Titaw]

Most insurances have two types collision and comprehensive. Basically comprehensive is anything not caused by a collision. If you can pass it off as vandalism your deductible should be lower and it doesn't count against you.

[Bliz]

My question is, what type of attorney do I need ?

A civil attorney ?

Or one of those attornies on TV who take cases of people involved in a car accident - but all of those attornies seem to be looking for people who were injured. I was not injured - I just want compensation for the damage to my car, cause by this hit-and-run *****

Those guys on tv typically rely on a high volume of cases that they settle at bargain basement prices, taking a contingency fee for doing very little work on huge numbers of cases and getting them out the door as fast as possible. They make tons of money, most of their clients aren't sophisticated enough to know the difference.

Civil attorney is the right answer. Someone who lists in a yellowpages ad like 10 different things they can handle. What you want is a "jack-of-all-trades" type civil attorney who will take anything that walks in the door. Your damages aren't going to be high enough to interest a lot of people. As others have mentioned, you're probably going to lose money on the deal. But there's a time and place for pursuing someone who deserves it, if you can swing it.

[DeanCollins]

you're screwed man

that's generally the case with mick, although I do think that he enjoys the floundering aspect of it. :silly:

[DeanCollins]

Most insurances have two types collision and comprehensive. Basically comprehensive is anything not caused by a collision. If you can pass it off as vandalism your deductible should be lower and it doesn't count against you.

that's assuming that mick has comprehensive, which he doesn't.

[Mickalino]

No, I don't have comp/collision.

I don't even think I have uninsured motorist coverage.

So, is there a civil attorney that will take this on a contingency basis, so I won't possibly end up being more money in the hole ?

[grhqofb5]

Go the hospital and complain about back and neck pain. Then call any personal injury attorney, set up an appointment, make sure that you get a contingency fee agreement, treat the "injury" with a "Doctor" for a few months, sue the driver (who has insurance) and then go buy your next batch of heroi... oh wait you not a resident of Baltimore City.

[Mickalino]

Go the hospital and complain about back and neck pain. Then call any personal injury attorney, set up an appointment, make sure that you get a contingency fee agreement, treat the "injury" with a "Doctor" for a few months, sue the driver (who has insurance) and then go buy your next batch of heroi... oh wait you not a resident of Baltimore City.

In the meantime, I have to pay for the medical treatment up front, and risk not getting compensated for it, right ?

[Riggins77]

If you really want to get into it, find out where the guy lives and steal his trash once he sets it on the street (that is legal). Dig through and see if you can find a bill or something from an auto repair place that he got his car fixed at.

Or put a brick threw his front and back windshield....eye for eye, tooth for tooth.

[Redd]

Sorry to hear about your situation Mike. Don't want to kick a guy while he's down but let this be a lesson to you. ALWAYS get full coverage, if you think you're paying to much there's plenty of other insurance companies that will give you a way lower price if you search long enough.

You may be the best driver in the world but that means jack for all the bad drivers that can hit you and might not pay for the damages. If you had full coverage you insurance would be doing all this hassle and your car would be fixed already while you wait for them to collect from the hit and run guy.

My advice, talk to a lawyer and see if any will take on your case. Oh and ALWAYS have a disposable camera in your car to take pictures of damages to your car and the other guys. Hopefully the guy will pay up in the end.

[Mr. S]

an attorney who has experience with insurance companies, or an attorney who has experience with traffic accidents. Just because they say injuries doesn't mean they cannot do other things too.

But as mentioned, are the costs really worth your "win"? You probably will settle with the insurance company outside of court, but still.

[DeanCollins]

So, is there a civil attorney that will take this on a contingency basis, so I won't possibly end up being more money in the hole ?

http://image07.webshots.com/7/0/25/83/86702583kDHlbw_fs.jpg

[grhqofb5]

In the meantime, I have to pay for the medical treatment up front, and risk not getting compensated for it, right ?

No, go to the doctor that the attorney sends you to. They usually have hook-ups who will treat you. If you don't have insurance, all the better. After all, who in their right mind would go to a Dr. and treat for injuries if they weren't truly injured and had no insurance? It's all really very simple. If you want, you can tell your doctor that you spilled your methodon.... oh wait, I forgot, this isn't Baltimore City. Just go to the attorney and don't worry about snaggin a new scrip.....

[Rocky21]

Sorry to hear about your situation Mike. Don't want to kick a guy while he's down but let this be a lesson to you. ALWAYS get full coverage, if you think you're paying to much there's plenty of other insurance companies that will give you a way lower price if you search long enough.

My advice, talk to a lawyer and see if any will take on your case. This is terrible one size fits all advice. Some people have a POS car that is not worth the premiums to fully insure. Uninsured motorist coverage is part of most people's liability coverage which is the bare minimum insurance you can have. In Virginia, it's a requirement that every driver have it.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

No, I don't have comp/collision.

I don't even think I have uninsured motorist coverage.

So, is there a civil attorney that will take this on a contingency basis, so I won't possibly end up being more money in the hole ?

No attorney is going to take a minor property damage case on contingency, because you aren't going to get special damages or attorney fees in the settlement.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Ok. You just now mentioned that you had injuries.

At that point, you can probably get a personal injury attorney to work on the case, maybe on contingency (though it depends on how much the damages are).

I still think you are screwed because it's really just a he said/she said right now.

[Bliz]

Go the hospital and complain about back and neck pain. Then call any personal injury attorney, set up an appointment, make sure that you get a contingency fee agreement, treat the "injury" with a "Doctor" for a few months, sue the driver (who has insurance) and then go buy your next batch of heroi... oh wait you not a resident of Baltimore City.

or, on the other hand, you might want to decide not to commit fraud, which is what you do when you sue someone for phantom injuries. If they were able to prove it, by for example figuring out that you have an sn on ES.com and posted that you have "no injuries", you would then be on the hook for their attorneys fees. Maybe punitive damages also, if Maryland law allows for that.

[DeanCollins]

Ok. You just now mentioned that you had injuries.

At that point, you can probably get a personal injury attorney to work on the case, maybe on contingency (though it depends on how much the damages are).

I still think you are screwed because it's really just a he said/she said right now.

I don't think that the head injuries are related to this accident.