My mother's truck was hit parked in front of our house. The impact pushed her truck up onto the sidewalk and into my truck. My truck was als...

Question

My mother's truck was hit parked in front of our house. The impact pushed her truck up onto the sidewalk and into my truck. My truck was also pushed up onto the curb and there is damage to my bumper and alignment. The person at fault is the neighbor across the street who has minimum basic liability. We are located in the state of California. His insurance is telling me that they only have a certain amount of money to disperse to the claims, and that pretty much I will get whatever is leftover (if any) after my mother's truck is fixed. I am not sure what to do in this matter as I have never been involved in an accident before. Should I start looking into filing a small claims court case?

Answer

You might make a claim under your and your mothers' underinsured motorist coverage. Also, you might sue in small claims and record the judgment. That puts a lien on his real property that will have to be satisfied when the property is refinanced or sold.

Answer

The person who cased the accident is responsible for the full amount of your damages regardless of how much insurance they have. If there is not sufficient insurance to cover your loss then they have to come out of pocket themselves. If you have insurance on your truck, you can make a claim under your policy and then your insurance company can try to get their money back through subrogation