Los Angeles, CA asked in Personal Injury and Car Accidents for California

Q: How can I get this driver's insurance company name? Struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk, driver has insurance per police

Partner and I were both struck by a vehicle, driver refused to give us information until the cops got there, the police arrived while we were both being driven away in the ambulance witnesses state he did have insurance, cops took down all information except for who his insurance company is. We were crossing in a crosswalk with the walk sign on, driver was making a left hand turn at about 15 to 20 mph, I sustained moderate injuries my partners were more severe as he was struck harder and carried on the hood of the car for about 25 ft as the car did not slow down right away and waited until after he made another turn into a parking lot and almost parked before stopping! Eyewitnesses and video footage from a nearby business our evidence, I have his name, address, license plate number make year and model of his vehicle incident number officer's names and badge numbers who were involved etc

7 Lawyer Answers
William John Light
William John Light
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Santa Ana, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: There are companies who will identify possible insurers, for a fee. You can also write to the defendant and ask for that information. You would be better off, and have more chance of learning this information, if you hired an attorney. You will get very little respect as a self-represented claimant.

Dan Rowan Cortright
Dan Rowan Cortright
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Sebastopol, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: I would send a demand letter to the driver's address informing him what your injuries were and that you intend to sue him for personal injury unless he provides his insurance information. That will usually get a driver to cough up the insurance so they don't have to be personally liable to pay any lawsuit judgment since insurance will cover it. If he doesn't respond, you sue him and serve the court papers. That will almost certainly get him to call his insurance for help.

Haleh Shekarchian
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Haleh Shekarchian
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Beverly Hills, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: Anyone of us on Justia would be able to obtain the insurance information for you.

You would be entitled to money for the repair of your car, rental, medical bills, loss of earnings, pain and suffering etc.

You should consult with anyone of us on Justia ASAP.

1 user found this answer helpful

Adam Stoddard
Adam Stoddard
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Santa Clara, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: You should probably hire an attorney to represent you and your partner for this accident. Although you do not have the insurance information, you do have the driver's address. I would hire an attorney to prepare a letter to send on both of your behalfs to the driver's home address. The attorney can request the driver's insurance information and hopefully the driver provides it. If the driver refuses, you can file a lawsuit which will likely trigger the driver to report it to his insurance anyways (if it has not already been reported) and the insurnace will likely retain an attorney to defend against the Complaint. To maximize your recovery, an attorney would be highly recommended.

Dale S. Gribow
Dale S. Gribow
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Palm Desert, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: retain a local PI lawyer asap for guidance.

there are co's that can get info you need but they charge.

retain a lawyer and let him/her pay for it

Theodore Allan Greene
Theodore Allan Greene
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: You should hire an attorney right away. Most will do it on a contingency which means you pay nothing and the attorney doesn't make anything unless you win. The police report will be needed and that should have a lot of the information you need including the insurance company and policy number. Then a call to that insurance company would be the starting point. When you get your own attorney involved they would handle all of that. Be careful if you don't get an attorney because the insurance company's employees job is to try to pay you as little as possible. They are not your friends and will trick you into thinking they will be fair. They won't be!

Steven M. Sweat
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Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: Check with the police department listed on the card they gave you and see if a formal accident report was made. Driver's insurance information will be on page one of that report. If no report was made, you can file an SR-1 (Report of Accident) with the DMV and follow this up with an SR-19 (Request for Insurance Information). All of this can be taken care of by an attorney should you choose to retain one.

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