I don't know if you were injured or not but in some states, an accident with injuries is treated much different than a regular collision.

Years ago, while living in the middle west, my car was hit by an uninsured driver. Did not sue because his attorney said that I would be number 35 on the list of judgements against him. If I had been injured though, they told me that he would go to jail. Maybe California has similar rules.

More first hand info:
1997 Surburban parked legally at the curb with no one inside. A little fart and his brother hit it head on @30MPH. They were on the wrong side of the street. Cops were called. The brother passenger begged the owner to tell the cops that he was driving since his drunken brother driver had a suspended license. The owner told the cops and they did NOTHING because they didn't see him driving it.

Unless someone is injured the cops won't show for a traffic accident.

Liability insurance is required for CA registration and pays only for the damage you caused another. Collision covers your car. Uninsured motorist insurance will come in handy IF you have it and can prove that he has no insurance.

This is only one of many injustices that burn my ass.

Let me expand on the situation a bit. I was being brief and wrote the original posts as quickly as possible.

I am not sure if he has a drivers license or insurance. He refused to show them to me because he has heard stories of people "getting screwed for stuff they didn't do" and was becoming a bit scary. He refused to aknowledge that the damage on my car came from him. He said an old Mercedes would never crumple like that because they are built so tough.

He kept trying to get back in his car, saying, "I am cool if your cool..."

I yelled back repeatadly, "I am not cool untill I get some info!"

He wouldn't budge. I wanted to call the cops, but I was in a city where I have never driven before, in a shady neighborhood and did not want to wait around with him while the cops came. I had his plate # and a working phone number, and that should be enough to get a police report rolling. You have three days to file a police report after a non-injury accident.

My insrance will go up at least $300 a year if an accident report is filed. I really don't wan't to pay that, but I will if it means I can get money out of this guy.

My plan is to call and offer him two options:

I make a report, get a lawyer, sue him (he probably loses his license, his car, etc)

Or he co-operates and pays an agreed sum. I get the subframe pulled to spec and I weld in and paint a new quarter panel.

Cassidy

__________________
Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K

There r a couple of rules u follow when in an accident.

1) Do not move ur car. Let the traffic be. Cops will most probably come sooner with all the POed drivers calling on their cells. If the other driver wants to leave let him but u do not move.

2) U exchange info - drivers lic no and ins. details

3) U do not admit or deny guilt for the accident. Let the cops and ins. handle that.

4) A police report covers u in all instances. If u do not make a report and the other driver does, u will be in trouble. If he has any injuries, which he may discover later, he could sue u. AND U DID NOT MAKE A POLICE REPORT !!! That is against the law.( the amount of damage u have , u have to make a report ) Even if he goes to the hospital next week for injuries sustained in this accident, u could be in trouble.

5) GO MAKE A POLICE REPORT. Cover ur self.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Man I hate to hear this kind of stuff.

Good luck and let us know how you .

Cheers,

bill

In California a person is legally required to show his driver's license, registration, insurance info, and give his current address to everyone involved in an auto accident.

Call the police and a lawyer immediately and have this guy tracked down. He's broken the law and owes you for the damage done to your car (and if you still have the receipt/canceled check/whatever to prove what you paid for you car, plus receipts for the parts and work you've put into it, you can get the full value back. Don't listen to the "blue book" crap).

Do NOT try to make a private deal with him.

__________________
'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

Please listen to us, we do NOT want you in jail or at risk...
Yes, it will be a hassel, but you will be covered if the other driver claims injury.

I would file a report as soon as possible. There is probably a law requiring (and him) to file a report within a certain time period and there are penalties for not doing it.

He will probably be a master at delaying and will try to delay you past the legal time limit. Also, he has an obligation to provide you with drivers license etc. If he refused, there are probably penalties for that too and his actions come close to hit and run.

Have you seen a Doctor to see that your neck is OK? Sometimes injuries do not show up right away and if you say you are uninjured and later find that you have been, it might be too late for action there too.

Hope you get him good.

Heed the words of wisdom regarding the legal aspects. Report this ASAP to the police department. They may think it odd that you have waited but . . . didn't you mention that you hit the interior of your car with your head? That constitutes an injury. Make certain the report is accurately recorded and they should have you sign it.

Private deal???? You lose.

__________________
Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

I would have been on my phone calling the cops right after the collison. Don't move your car and say your blocking traffic, they will get their fast enough. If the guy ran get his plate and they will nail him for a hit and run. Chances are he has drugs or guns in the car and they will nail him for that to, the car was probably not even his. I drive threw some crappy parts of New Haven every day going to school, these people are trash and need to be treated as such. Chances are you will never get a penny out of him, sueing him is a wast of time so what you get a $5k small claims settlement do you think that guy has $5k dollars or $5k in assets? He probably works at a part time job for $8 an hour or sucks in welfare.


I hope you can get your car fixed if the door is hard to shut thats a very bad sign. Get a good body shop to look at it but I would say your probably right it is a gone.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Both sides are technically right on the insurance increase due to a claim. Technically an insurance company cannot penalize you for a non at fault claim. However, if you read your policy you'll probably find you are probably getting a "good driver discount". That they can take away. It's not fair but that's how it works. It can pay to not make a claim.

Cazzzidy, I've got to agree with the go to the police crowd. It sounds like the guy was using the "the best defense is a good offense" ploy. Don't let him get away with it. If nothing else make a police report so this meatball doesn't show up some day and claim that you hit him and you no longer have a crunched car to use to defend your side of the story. After the police report talk to your insurance company, not the agent, the company. It sounds like the agent is not giving you a good story and you can probably get a feel for what they will do for you without having to actually make a claim. Finally I'd seriously consider going to small claims court. I've been there before and it is pretty easy. It's designed for stuff like this and they don't even allow lawyers to represent people. It's you (the reasonable and obviously wronged one) versus the creep. I'd avoid hiring a lawyer because then you can't use small claims and most lawyers will not be interested because the guy doesn't have enough money. Generally speaking, accident attorneys want to see an injury before they really care. That said, if you find a friendly lawer who will offer some cheap/free advice I'd take it. Chin up. You may have lost a friend but you haven't lost your spirit. Don't let this slide or you'll have a bad feeling about this for years.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

Hattrasguy: Be careful about casting aspersions about people that you do not know. Not one person on this forum has made any derogatory comments about you and this is an eclectic group. Denigrating a person or people that you do not personally know to be a flake(s) is seriously unfair and borders on things that are best left off of this forum lest we think ill of you.

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N. Hodges
1994 S350
1987 300 SDL (for sale)

Hmm...

This is a pretty tough call, but I am leaning towards letting it slide. He is absolutely not going to make an accident report and claim injury. He is not going to attract attention to an accident that he caused if he most likely has no insurance or license (and is very possibly an illegal immigrant), especially since I could make the case it was essentially a hit and run. I can also "play dumb" and claim that I did not understand the damage to the frame was so extensive, and never would have thought it broke the $750 in damages neccesary for making a report. We both agreed on the scene that we weren't hurt.

The ball is in my court. There is no need to make a report if only to protect myself.


My parents have been to small claims court twice -- once against
a poor guy, and once against a rich guy. They got the money from the rich guy. But the poor guy cost my parents lots of hard work, weeks of frustration and anger, hundreds in legal fees ... and they got nothing. Not a dime. The guy probably ran back to Mexico.

The entire episode left me with the understanding that no matter how hard you try, you can't take money from someone who doesn't have money. Sure, you can ruin their life trying... but in the end you will be dissapointed.

This guy is one of the biggest *******'s in the world. But that is his trip ... his Karma. Getting into a legal struggle will cause me a lot of negative energy for a long time. The sooner I can let go and move on with life the better.

If the car can be straigtened, I will go ahead and weld on and paint a new quarter panel/fender. It will be a good time to spray the roof black, too! (cream puff look is classy.) If the car can't be fixed, I will buy a manual 240D and swap my stereo and wvo conversion, and eventually the turbo motor.

****ty things happen to good people. We arn't rich, but luckily my family and I are not hard up for money, so we can make it through events like this and "write it off", so to speak. I will be getting a couple estimates tommorow.

__________________
Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K

1) You don't know that he doesn't have insurance or a license. That's a big gamble.

2) Sure, you can say it was a hit and run. But so can he. Right now there is no evidence to prove either way. He can say you were the one that freaked out and drove off when he asked for your information.

3) You're dreaming if you think reality has anything to do with injury claims. For example:

Ten years ago my friend was driving down the street, at the 35 MPH speed limit, when an old woman pulled out in front of him from a parking lot. He hit his brakes but ended up T-boning her anyway at a speed of about 25 MPH. Police came, reports filed, insurance contacted - everyone agreed she was at fault.

Fast forward to 364 days later - a day before the statute of limitations funs out for filing a personal injury suit - my friend received a subpoena in the mail. Sued. His "reckless driving" caused the old lady serious injuries and caused emotional damage to the grandson she had in the car with her.

My friend had moved across the country at that point, and had to make multiple flights across the country to deal with the lawsuit. Lucky for him, the lady sued his insurance company (or maybe his insurance covered such lawsuits..?), so his insurance covered his flight costs (they wanted him to win; they could countersue to recoup their costs).

Lady tells some bull**** story about how she was innocently driving down the street when my friend, coming from the other direction towards her at about 50 MPH, revving his engine like crazy, makes a miraculous, physically impossible, instantaneous 90 degree turn in the middle of the street and T-bones her still going 50 MPH.

She got laughed out of court.


Are you willing to bet that they guy who rear-ended you can't come up with a more believable story? And either way, it's going to cause you a lot of trouble (especially if you don't have your insurance co.'s resources to back you up).

If you do nothing, you are betting a lot on the assumptions I outlined above. Report it to the police and your insurance company. More than likely, especially if this is your first accident and you can demonstrate you were not at fault (you were rear-ended, so that should be easy), your premiums will not go up (though contrary to what others have said it is perfectly legal for them to raise your premiums here in California).

Report it first thing in the morning.

__________________
'81 300TD Wagon 355k (Miss Diesel)
'83 300SD 180k
'84 500SEL 190k (Parting it out)

I knew someone was going to say that, but I get a little tired of dodging people in pimped out cars everyday on my way to school. I'm averaging two very close calls a month. I am an extremly deffensive driver now because of this. But your right I should not not make general statments still this guy sounds all to familer.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200