Q: Rear ended by uninsured driver. Should I take it to small claims court??
My family was rear ended in Jan 2020 and they had no proof of insurance at the time of the accident so it was a mandatory court appearance and we were encouraged to appear. In court he submitted insurance to the court, getting the ticket dropped, but when I submitted our outstanding bills to the provided insurance we were informed it was cancelled back in October 2019. We have decided to take him to small claims and I was wondering:
1. Should we sue for the deductible even though our insurance has initiated suborgation and I've notified IDOT who will also go after the deductible.
2. Is it worth it when we have a strong feeling he won't pay? He has yet to pay the fine for failure to reduce speed from February's court date. We are looking at around $700 in out of pocket expenses for us. Luckily our medical insurance picked up where auto insurance couldn't.
3. Will the state of Illinois do anything considering he lied in court? I know I've done what I can to ensure it stays with him
A:
Go to the prosecutor who handled the Hearing in February and provide him with your correspondence from the other driver's insurance company stating that the insurance was not in effect on the date of the accident.
If the Defendant has any motivation to drive, legally, he will pay because he cannot get his license back until he does. You would certainly win a Small Claims case on your facts but that does not increase the likelihood of recovery.
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