Q & A Table of Contents
It's My Fault But I Can't Pay
From: Wantty, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Question: Two weeks ago, I got into a car accident. I was coming out of the drive way and I bumped into another car. He was speeding at 50 mph at a street that has maxium velocity at 25mph. Since he was going very fast, his car pushed my car to the right which hit another parked car. The police said it was my fault because the other guy has the right of way. My insurance won't pay anything for the accident because I sent in my payments late. Thus, the other party is asking me for $4000 to repair his door. The the other "parked car guy" wants $3000 for his back light and bumper. I've asked them to get other estimates and they said they did and they both want original parts for their cars.
Right now, I think I can only come up with $600 cash to pay for them both. I am a second year optometry graduate student who has no savings or assets under my name. I have a lawyer friend who told me that if they do take me to court they would have to hire a lawyer (since that's the law in Puerto Rico). I seriously do not have any money to pay them and am thinking about going to court.
Any suggestions and advice?
Response: It sounds as if you're between a rock and a hard place. I am surprised that your insurance company is 'off the hook' because the accident was your fault. While insurance laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, a basic purpose of car insurance is to protect a car owner from the financial consequences of problems s/he causes.
The other surprise to me is that the victims' insurance coverage does not cover underinsured motorists. Since you have not got assets to cover their damages, in some states, at least, their insurance should provide coverage.
Thus you have some homework to do with the local government agency that governs automobile insurance to find out whether these issues are really as you describe them.
In the worst case, if neither you nor your victims has any coverage and you have no assets with which to compensate them for the damage which, under the law, you caused, it would make sense to think about some sort of long-term compensation. While at the moment $7000 is far more money than you can produce, once you are in the workplace perhaps you can provide regular monthly or quarterly payments that will ultimately compensate the other car owners for the damages they have suffered. If you demonstrate a good faith intention to do your part, perhaps they will find some way to reduce their expectations.
Your bargaining position is strong in that you have nothing and the cost of litigation for your victims could be prohibitive. However, perhaps one of them has a relative who is a lawyer, so that may not stop them from pursuing you in court.
The more serious question is one of ethics. If your action did indeed cause harm to others, there is a moral issue involved. Shortcuts like bankruptcy may work, but do nothing for your personal reputation, much less your own self-image.
I hope the insurance companies can be found to have an obligation to give their policy holders value for the money they have spent on car insurance premiums.
Good luck in this ugly situation.
Steve
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