Advice Needed

[wolven]

SAU i need some advice,

On september the 5th (fathers day) this year I had a truck change lanes ontop of me. Driver didnt indicate or check his mirrors end result is almost $3k of damage to my Subaru Liberty.

Anyway the driver was in his work removalist truck and claimed at the time that he was not insured (oh goody!), I've got 3rd party fire n theft insurance. i got his name a business card and the rego of the truck, I have since been dealing with my insurance company (just cars) and their free laywer service who have sent a letter of demand but with no reply. I have called the driver on several occasions but he has dogged me (not in the office, phone running our of battery etc) and has not given up any extra contact details.

The liberty is sitting in my driveway damaged im driving the my stagea and paying for loan for both cars,

what it comes down to is whats my next step? what are my options?

I dont really want to make a legal issue out of this cause it will probably get messy, but i will if i have to.

[sneki81]

im definetly no lawer so dont know what would happen, but if it was 3-4 months ago and the guy is still dodging you i would be starting to look into the legal side of things. i highly dought he is intending on doing anything about the damage.

[raps86]

if he was in a work truck the company should have insurance. but id start lookin at the legal side of things as sneki81 said to get the money and compensation for the lost time of not having the car.

[some_cs_student]

He works for a *company* is this a big company that you can call? Or his own business?

If its his own business it might be a little more difficult, your insurance lawyer might be able to help, or you might have to seek more legal advice, if your insurance covers you against uninsured drivers (AAMI 3rd party does..) then you need the other driver to sign a form stating they did not have insurance at the time....(confirm with your insurance company)

[wolven]

yeah its an actual company ive spoken to the guy whom answers phones a couple times trying to track down the driver, I've sent him a letter for him to sign saying that he wasnt insured and he has confirmed over the phone that he received it.

god its annoying though, anyone else been through something like this?

[sneki81]

atleast you know where he works, so unless he quits or gets fired he isnt to hard to find. if i was in your shoes i would cease all phone calls etc and go down there personally and not leave untill the problem is solved. ask to speak to his boss and sort it out from there.

[GTR-N1]

Call your solicitor ASAP!

That driver is supposed to be a 'professional driver'!

Once your solicitor acts, that driver will not be able to afford to be off the road. He has too much hingeing on the fact that he needs to stay on the road to earn a living!

It'll probably never make it to court - especially if the 'sabre-rattling' procedure works.

Call your solicitor ASAP!

[mickey]

chances are he is a sub contractor, not an employee. He is therefore responsible for all insurance on his vehicle.

The 'employer'/head contractor won't give a crap about your predicament in that case.

If he has ignored letters of demand then it's time to just initiate legal proceedings against him personally as driver and on his company (not the removalist company but the sub contractor's company) quickly before he bails. This is of course assuming he has money to give in the end. If he doesn't, there's really little you can do.

If he is an employee, then you can sue the removalist company and deem them vicariously liable. But that's unlikely (unless the truck is actually owned by the removalist company in which you have recourse against the owner).

Best to chat with a lawyer in your jurisdiction.