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Hit by drunk driver. Did I do something stupid?
Anonymous3 views8 answers
Last night, a drunk driver rammed into the back of my car. The impact broke and knocked loose my tail light and put a sizable dent in my bumper. We pulled over to the side of the road. The kid gets out of his truck and immediately asks how we can fix this. After asking for his insurance (which he doesn't have) and his licence (also doesn't have), he begged me not to call the cops, admitting to be he had a few beers and he's underage. I didn't want to get the kid in trouble and tried to work with him. What I decided to do was take down all his information: license plate, number, name, phone, address, etc.. From there I took a video of him saying he was at fault in the incident and he would pay to have my car fixed. We scheduled a meeting for later today to discuss. Is this enough recourse?
Gregory S. BaumgartnerTrucking Accident LawyerHouston, TX ·
If the kid did not have insurance, not calling the police probably will not make much of a difference. Hopefully, the boy will learn a lesson here and I hope you impress upon him what would have happened if the police did come.
If you have full coverage you may want to have your insurance company fix your car and collect the deductible from the kid.
I would say letting this underage driver "get away with one" was not a wise decision. It does not do the underage driver any favors to let him get away with drinking and driving. It does not do you any favors to have to later prove to your insurance company or his that this accident happened in the way you say it did, in order to make a claim without a police report. If there is an injury claim to be made as well, then the potential problems are multiplied. I venture to guess that since this accident, after your adrenaline slowed and body relaxed, you probably have started feeling some pain or stiffness. Many times, our clients only notice injuries much later, thinking that they were fine at the time of the accident. Trying to convince an insurance adjuster that you have an injury claim is made much harder when you tell the story about how you let this young driver go, even after the underage driver admitted he was drinking.
You did not say how much damage you sustained. The odds are the kid does not have the money to fully pay you. If you have collision coverage on your car, it would be best to go through your insurance coverage to have your case fixed. Your insurance company will then go after the kid for reimbursement. If they collect 100% of your loss, you will get back your deductible.
It was not stupid as much as it was reckless. So you let a drunk driver loose on the road that night so he can kill or maim someone else and think it's ok to drink and drive in the future.
When you said "did I do something stupid" you were only thinking about your selfish self, right???--whether you "get paid" with no concern for anyone else???
