My question involves an accident that occurred in the state of: New Jersey
A drunk driver plowed into my driveway, causing damage to my three parked vehicles, a lamp post, my porch railing, a tree, and my front lawn. Two of my three vehicles have collision and have been totaled, per my insurance. His insurance is working on the full claim but have put me on notice that he likely will not have sufficient liability coverage to reimburse all of my losses. At this time, they have not disclosed to me what his liability limit is. He is a young guy with likely limited assets, but the car and insurance are his father's who, being more established in life, likely has more assets.
At this time, I would prefer to keep my options open regarding a potential lawsuit. I haven't made any decisions yet, but the police are estimating that he had to be going at least 50 mph in a residential 25 in order for all of this damage to have occurred. And, while I haven't seen the actual blood alcohol yet, as it is still under criminal investigation, I have to assume he was pretty far gone to have done all of this. His behavior was incredibly reckless and he needs to be held accountable for his actions.
My very specific question is this: If I accept the offer on the total losses from my insurance company's collision claim, does that preclude me from potentially filing suit against the driver or vehicle owner down the road? I know that I need to be very careful regarding accepting anything from his insurance, but I'm unclear if I can take payments under my collision damage in the meantime so that we're not out of pocket on the cost to repair/replace three vehicles for an extended time.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
A drunk driver plowed into my driveway, causing damage to my three parked vehicles, a lamp post, my porch railing, a tree, and my front lawn. Two of my three vehicles have collision and have been totaled, per my insurance. His insurance is working on the full claim but have put me on notice that he likely will not have sufficient liability coverage to reimburse all of my losses. At this time, they have not disclosed to me what his liability limit is. He is a young guy with likely limited assets, but the car and insurance are his father's who, being more established in life, likely has more assets.
At this time, I would prefer to keep my options open regarding a potential lawsuit. I haven't made any decisions yet, but the police are estimating that he had to be going at least 50 mph in a residential 25 in order for all of this damage to have occurred. And, while I haven't seen the actual blood alcohol yet, as it is still under criminal investigation, I have to assume he was pretty far gone to have done all of this. His behavior was incredibly reckless and he needs to be held accountable for his actions.
My very specific question is this: If I accept the offer on the total losses from my insurance company's collision claim, does that preclude me from potentially filing suit against the driver or vehicle owner down the road? I know that I need to be very careful regarding accepting anything from his insurance, but I'm unclear if I can take payments under my collision damage in the meantime so that we're not out of pocket on the cost to repair/replace three vehicles for an extended time.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Vehicle Damage: Damages in Excess of Liability: Other Driver 100% Liable
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