Long story short, a drunk uninsured motorist backed into my car twice, fled the scene after I asked him to wait for me to contact someone, and then hit another car 30 minutes later and got arrested.
There is a police report/case number and all of this information is in there and corroborated by a witness and my evidence (I provided them his license plate before they found him and he actually gave me his real name and phone number before driving off).
The caveat is that the damage to my car is incredibly minor (in the sense of, you probably wouldn’t ever notice unless I told you it got hit and you went looking for damage). However repair looks to be a new bumper and buffing part of the hood, still probably not cheap but I’m not an expert.
I’m trying to figure out what action to take. I’m assuming because of the police report, there is now an accident tied to my car, so its perceived value will go down and my rates will go up regardless if I file a claim? If that’s true that makes me think I may as well just file one and have insurance handle that.
The other part of me hopes/wishes for the insurance not to be involved so my rate doesn’t get messed with and I just pursue suing in small claims court. The damage is so minor that I am in no rush for repairs or anything like that and I would want to collect in addition to damages, money lost on the value of the car now that it has an accident tied to it.
Maybe I shouldn’t let my feelings of indignation get the best of me, but this guy drove drunk with kids in the back so I don’t mind trying to squeeze blood from a stone for a chance at financially castrating him.
I live in and am insured in Minnesota. Hit and run happened in Wisconsin. Any thoughts/opinions/additional resources are appreciated, and I can answer any questions.
Drunk uninsured backed into my car
byu/Electrical_Abroad_99 inInsurance
Posted by Electrical_Abroad_99
3 Comments
It depends on the size of the estimates you get from some body shops and their view of the odds of the estimate increasing after disassembly. How fitting that your car got DUI’ed in Wisconsin in particular. 🤦♂️
It wasn’t your fault. If your rates go up it will be minor. File the claim and let insurance handle it. With the DUI and another accident involved it will be messy.
“Maybe I shouldn’t let my feelings of indignation get the best of me, but this guy drove drunk with kids in the back so I don’t mind trying to squeeze blood from a stone for a chance at financially castrating him.”
Then contact the local prosecutor and ask to show up at the person’s hearing and ask them to let the judge know what your damages are.