Some thoughts for your consideration:

1. You do not sue the other driver's insurance company. You sue the other driver. Her insurer may have a contractual obligation to defend a lawsuit and pay for the damage (eventually), but that doesn't make them the proper party in a lawsuit. That they've "made a liability decision and offered 50%" is irrelevant.

2. If the car is owned by her parents, you might also try suing them, but whether they bear any liability as the vehicle owner (as opposed to operator) depends on state law. You should consult an Arizona attorney before naming them as defendants.

3. At present, there is no 50/50 "verdict." A verdict is issued by a jury. What you have is merely an insurer's offer to settle for 50 cents on the dollar before you file suit. You're not obliged to accept that offer if you consider it inadequate.

4. They've offered 50% for one of two reasons: (a) the other driver lied to them when she reported the accident and said you were partly at fault, or (b) they're bluffing, trying to get you to settle for as little as possible. If you decide to continue your discussion with the insurer rather than proceeding directly to court, tell the insurer 50% is not an option and you would be pleased to see the other driver on the witness stand under oath. No need at this point to volunteer that you have an eyewitness willing to testify about how the accident occurred, unless you think it will help persuade the insurer. Of course, if the insurer asks whether there were any witnesses, you should not lie.

5. The bit about a salvage title is nonsense. True, a salvage title can be issued when an insurer pays the value of a car it considers uneconomical to repair, but that's only if the insurer is acquiring the vehicle. I guess you could interpret their settlement offer as having two components: (a) we'll pay you $875, but not until (b) you retitle the car as a salvaged vehicle. No thanks.

6. If you win a judgment against the driver (including a small claims court judgment), and it is not paid within 60 days, you can ask the court to forward a copy of the judgment to the AZ Director of Transportation. The DOT will then suspend her driver's license and registration until the judgment is paid, unless (or until) she proves that an insurance company is liable to pay the judgment. The same goes for the parents if you get a judgment against them.

7. You haven't really talked about your own insurance. You can avoid the hassle of suing the driver, or dealing with her insurer, if you let your own insurer pay for the repair (less your deductible) and go after the other party. The risk is that they'll settle with the other insurer for less than 100% of your damages and then take the position that since they didn't recover all of it, they don't have to refund your deductible.

Good luck.

pjc

This is a follow-up for anyone that might encounter this in the future.

I sued the insurance company. Technically, you can't sue an insurance company for damages for an accident (at least in AZ), however I'd talked to some insurance reps that had told me that if the case goes to court the judge keeps the insurance company on hand until the verdict and then dismisses them. This would be expensive for the insurance company and I suspected that they would fold and make me a good offer.

Never happened. They countersued, claiming that I owed them for 50% of the 1500 dollars worth of damages to their car, and suggested that I go to my insurance company and present them with the suit as they would be liable for the amount of the countersuit.

I did this. My insurance company took the lawsuit, though they wondered if the insurance company could actually place a countersuit since the defendant wasn't the primary policy holder. The other insurance company had made an exception and was allowing and paying the lawyer for the countersuit.

End of story? My insurance company negotiated a deal where I wouldn't have to salvage my vehicle, but only upped their offering price to around 1100. By this time I was so sick of the whole ordeal that I accepted.

I bought the replacement parts for about 400 and fixed the car myself. (A nightmare!). Now I need a paint job which will probably cost another few hundred to get the fender and hood done.

All in all, I'm up on the deal, in a sense, but when stress and hassle are considered I lost BIG TIME. In retrospect, I wish I'd gone to small claims and just sued the driver. I had a strong case, with an affidavit of fact from 6 employees of a neighboring business that she was exiting on an entrance lane in an intersection of poor visibility. I had her original admission of fault, and photos of the scene that would support my claim. I might have ended up with about 600 more through this avenue. On top of that, small claims court is cheaper, and the experience is swifter.

The same could have happened if I'd taken the case to court as well, just continuing the suit I'd originally filed. However, there just comes a point where the hassle doesn't really match the gain. (After doing the body work I feel like the hassle might have been worth it by the way)...

It was easy enough to find comparable MBs being sold for much higher than what they were valuing the vehicle for. In the months of the suit, I never found a single comparable vehicle in my city selling for less than 4000. Now of course they are lower, and if the suit had dragged on, it might have been to my detriment. Who Knows!?

Anyway, that's it for me. As to advice? Keep a camera in your glove box for accidents. Record conversations about the accident with the opposing person with your cell phone (in my state it's allowed in court). And maybe, if you're feeling frisky, have your car appraised by an independent adjustor now, prior to any accidents, so that you have that on file. Always ask for witnesses. And be brutal (something I just don't have the heart to be).

Cheers!

Lessons learned:
1) Call the police.
2) Get an on-site POLICE REPORT
3) Listen to the advice of those experienced people you asked. (See previous postings)
4) Get an on-site POLICE REPORT
5) Never accept the insurer's settlement offer if it is not equitable. EVEN and especially if it is from your own insurer. (Ask them if the Policy they sold you is no good and why you paid good money to an impotent company and agent who won't stand behind it?)
5) Call a good, hungry lawyer...or at least a better one next time

__________________
Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis