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Hit By A Yukon on 880

Incarnadine

Incarnadine

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2005
Location
San Jose
Moto(s)
GSXR 600K5
Name
Anthony
I hope I posted this under the right subject...

I was splitting lanes on the 880 (perfectly legal) when a stupid Yukon decides to try and make the Montague exit at the last minute! She changes lanes without looking and launches me off my bike and pretty much turned me into a pinball making me ricochet off the back windshield of another car and then finally hitting the floor. I was out cold for a few minutes, but when I woke up I was so damn happy that I was wearing all my gear, but the next part of this story is where I could use some help.

The girl who hit me was in the process of renewing her insurance when she hit me. So when I called her insurance company they told me that she was not insured at the time so they could not help me. I only have liability so my insurance company told me that they could do nothing about the situation either. I talked to a "Personal Injury Lawyer" and she told me since I did not go to the hospital and have no hospital bills that she could not represent me in court since there is no proof of my injuries. This accident happened about 2months ago so my wounds are 100% healed.

The bottom line is I just want the money to fix my bike. The huge Yukon totaled my bike and since I can't claim personal injuries and this girl has no insurance I don't know what to do next. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for reading.
 
I would pick up that report and bring it to your insurance AND lawyer. It would make sense to be enough to file a claim against her for the cost of your bike being repaired. I would give Summitdog (sp) here on BARF a call and get his expert advice.
 
Sounds like a civil suit you should rightfully win.

I think you should avoid splitting close to off/onramps. People make split second decisions about where the want to go all the time, getting off the freeway in traffic is pretty common. Being somewhere else means this situation wouldn't have happened like it did.
 
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Can something like this be settled in small claims court? I tried looking for a lawyer already and no one wants to represent me because of the simple fact that my injuries were minor and I didn't go to the hospital.

If Summitdog knows what to do that would be great! I will try to pm him.
 
Yes you can take this to small claims. With a police report in your favor you will certainly win.

One of my friends got t boned by an uninsured guy that ran a red light. It took a few months but he served him and took him to small claims. There was no police report taken at the accident and only 1 witness who was in the car. He ended up winning like 5k in damages. You don't need a lawyer for small claims.
 
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Anyone who rides on the street needs to have Uninsured motorist and Underinsured motorist.

And get the most coverage you can. Its funny people want cheap insurance and when they need the insurance realize they don't have enough coverage, but you got cheap insurance.
 
"In the process of renewing insurance" Hey, I have to remember to use that when I have no insurance!

My insurance company starts sending me renewal notices months before it expires, so I would get an actual date the insurance lapsed and see if she really was covered and the insurance company is bs ing you. Bring the "no coverage" to court if it is true, just adds more to the evidence of negligence.
 
You're probably fubared. She probably doesn't have 2 nickels to her name and therefore no money for you. IMHO you would be throwing away good money after bad if you paid a lawyer to go to court. Small claims court AFAIK can award you damages but they don't have a mechanism so you can collect. I'd do my own homework first to see if she has any assets to collect. I'd also try and find her bank account number. AFAIK you can go directly to the bank with the small claims court order to debit her account yourself.
 
Its funny people want cheap insurance and when they need the insurance realize they don't have enough coverage, but you got cheap insurance.

You're Yogi Berra, right?

To the OP: As others have said, go to court, go directly to court. Do not let this pass, perhaps you will collect $200. Sounds like you have THE ace-in-the-hole with the police report. Review the time line, document EVERYTHING, make your case and collection can be a bitch, but not if you are a bitch when collecting a judgment.

G'luck!
 
plumber said:
You're probably fubared. She probably doesn't have 2 nickels to her name and therefore no money for you. IMHO you would be throwing away good money after bad if you paid a lawyer to go to court. Small claims court AFAIK can award you damages but they don't have a mechanism so you can collect. I'd do my own homework first to see if she has any assets to collect. I'd also try and find her bank account number. AFAIK you can go directly to the bank with the small claims court order to debit her account yourself.
Click to expand...

She's driving a Yukon, it's not like it was some white trash in a beater car. Chances are she has some money. Or maybe she's poor
 
Wait a minute here, something's not right:confused

You got into an accident and then took a couple months before dealing with calling her insurance company?

Some questions.

Did you notify your insurance company within 24 hours of the accident?

Did you do the above with her insurance company?

If there was a police report that means a cop asked for her proof of insurance at the scene, so wouldn't the cop know at that time whether or not her insurance was current?

If you got "pinballed" around, why didn't you go top the hospital first thing just in case. They may not have found anything at the time but if I'm in an accident such as that I would go to emergency just in case. You never know.

I'm not trying to be an ahole about your situation, it's just with the internet it's hard to tell what sequence of events transpired.
 
ZREX1100 said:
She's driving a Yukon, it's not like it was some white trash in a beater car. Chances are she has some money. Or maybe she's poor
Click to expand...

They've been making Yukons for quite a while. It could be an 09 and that doesn't guarantee she has anything to seize.
 
Incarnadine said:
The bottom line is I just want the money to fix my bike. The huge Yukon totaled my bike and since I can't claim personal injuries and this girl has no insurance I don't know what to do next. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for reading.
Click to expand...

I hope that next time you'll carry more than liability insurance. You can't expect that everyone else will pick up the tab, because plenty of people are dead beats.
 
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your insurance company won't represent you since you only have liability. you'll have to find a lawyer or goto small claims. make sure the bitch gets her license suspended at least. no insuance and accident with damages over ($500?) should do it.
 
t0n3dawgg said:
That should be enough proof to take her to court.
Click to expand...

Isn't uninsured motorist coverage required in California?
That should take care of the damage to the bike.
 
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