Expert: Bennie719 - 4/21/2008

Question
my husband was in a terrible accident the other morning with a bicyclist who swerved into traffic and was hit by our car. so far there is no liability on our part because there were witnesses who saw the biker get in direct traffic and it was too late. the question i have is that we only had liability insurance in Colorado on our car, and the car was totaled, is there anything we could do to get our money for the car?

Answer
Hi Anne,
Neither the auto or home insurance of the bicyclist will cover such an accident.

Your husband should make contact with the bicyclist to see if he is willing to pay for the damage.

Otherwise, he will need to file a claim for the value of your vehicle, less it's salvage value, in small claims court against the bicyclist.

You will need a copy of the police report, several estimates from dealers to establish the value of your car and one or two estimates from wrecking yards to establish the salvage value of your car.  At the time you file, you need to complete the summons for all witnesses so they can testify on your husbands behalf.

I hope this information has been of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area