4 replies to this topic

[Godisgood.]

Brief Summary:
I am an Illinois resident. I purchased a car for my daughter in my name due to some credit challenges she had. She and her 3 year old son were involved in an auto accident on 9/13/12 .(other person was at fault) my daughter incurred a sprained ankle and other problems (medical claim pending) ,the vehicle was totaled.***** (other persons insurance) wrote a check for the car and only covered the cost of the rental for 2 weeks.This vehicle was recently purchased (March 2012) ($4000 down), $1800 in car notes. We do not have another down payment for a new car, therefore,she had to stay in the rental at $180.00 per week.(so far $1400. has been paid to rental agency and $366 due.

While in the rental car, there was a wind storm and a branch fell on the back wind shield and shattered it, now our Insurance is charging us the $500 deductible.The accident occurred in MO and we are IL residents. As a result of this accident, there has been a total of $8,092.00 in expenses so far (excluding medical) and has placed us in a HUGE hole and my daughter no longer has a way to work which has caused pain mentally on all of us!

Questions?

Who should we file the law suit against ; the person that caused the accident or **** for ALL expenses incurred as a result of this accident? No settlement has been offered for the medical portion of this claim as of yet.

What are the options provided we can not afford an attorney?

Should we seek council in IL or MO?....PLEASE HELP!!

Edited by FindLaw_AHK, 19 November 2012 - 08:12 AM.
This post has been edited to remove personal or identifying information. -Moderator

[LegalwriterOne]

If you/she settled the property portion of the claim, you likely signed a waiver of further claims in that regard and cannot now try to ding the other driver or their insurance for the continued cost of a rental car. As to the damage to the rental vehicle, the other driver is NOT in any way responsible for that. Additionally, there is a duty to mitigate damages meaning you aren't going to be compensated for continuing to drive a rental car weeks after the accident especially after you accepted compensation for your vehicle. Your daughter should have consulted an attorney immediately but to answer your question, if the accident occurred in Mo, that is the state to seek counsel.

[adjusterjack]

1 - The other driver's insurance company only owes for the rental for the two weeks it took to settle the claim. That you incurred another 1700+ for a car rental was just plain foolish. You could have used that money to put down on another car. You could have used that money to buy a car for cash.

2 - The wind damage to the rental car has nothing to do with the first claim so you're on your own with that.

So, you have nobody to sue with regard to car damage or expenses.

As for the injury, that's between your daughter and the other insurance company. You're welcome to discuss her claim here and get some guidance for her.

[Godisgood.]

I appreciate the advice.Provided we had $1700 at once, we possibly would have purchaced another vehicle, as opposed to continuing with renting.Purchasing a car requires a down payment, when you have credit challenges even a higher one. In the mean time, she needed to get to/from work and needed transportation.So please keep personal opinions to yourself.(that was foolish)

I will seek legal help in MO

Thanks for your help.

[FindLaw_AHK]

You may wish to use the Missouri Lawyers Directory to local a local lawyer to seek legal help and advise you on how to proceed.