Houston, TX asked in Civil Litigation for Texas

Q: Do I have a case in small claims court?

I was involved in an accident about 2 weeks ago. I only had liability coverage on my car and no coverages for uninsured motorists. Luckily I was not injured. My car was pushed into a fire hydrant in the wreck and it is gone. It has a lot of damage to it and it wouldn't start, so it had to be towed from the scene. I was involved in the accident with two other cars. Neither of the other two drivers had insurance. I was able to obtain a police report a few days ago and the police had placed one of the drivers at fault for the wreck. My insurance has also determined that I'm not at fault. I was also able to take photos of the damage to my car after I went to the storage yard my car was towed to get the rest of my things out of the car. Do I have a case for small claims court? I want to sue the at fault driver for the damage to my car. I don't want to sue for repairs since the car is a total loss. Am I'm able to sue for the value of my car?

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: Yes. If the cost of repair exceeds the value of the car at the time of the collision, you can sue for the fair market value of the totaled car.

Tim Akpinar agrees with this answer

A: Yes. Gather information about the value of the car, either from market sources or auto industry references (NADA or other). Good luck

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