If you are in a car accident and your car is not insured how much money can they seek from you?
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If you are in a car accident and your car is not insured how much money can they seek from you?
Asked on October 8, 2015 under Accident Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
First, you only have to pay if you were at fault--for example, driving negligently or carelessly--in causing the accident. If you were not at fault, you are not responsible to pay anything to anyone else, and if you refuse to pay, they would have to sue you and prove in court that you were at fault to win any compensation.
If you were at fault, you can be held liable, or responsible, to pay all of the other party's costs or losses. For example , if their car was damaged and most of the cost was paid by insurance, they could seek the deductible from you. The could give you the chance to pay it in installments or over time, but don't have to--they could insist on it all at once and, if not paid, sue you for the money.
Also, their insurer could sue you the insuer is allowed to sue any at-fault driver to recover any amounts it has to pay out. So say they have a $1,000 deductible, $8,000 of damage was done, and the insurer paid $7,000. The car's owner could sue you for the $1,000 deductible while the insurer sues to get back the $7,000 it paid out.
You could also be sued for miscelleous costs related to the accidet, such as if you were at fault and the other driver had to pay to rent a car or pay to have his car towed.
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