My car was hit by a drunk driver back in December and the driver tried to flee the scene. He was arrested and it was determined he didn’t have car insurance at the time of the accident- causing my insurance to have to pay out for repairs instead of his.
I received a letter in the mail today from a probation officer regarding a pre-sentence investigation of the defendant. With the letter is a worksheet asking how the incident has impacted my life, what property damage occurred, how much was spent in repairs, and how I would like the defendant charged.
My question is…how does this apply if I’ve already had the claim approved and my car repaired? Am I entitled to any further restitution if my insurance covered it?
No missed work- I took PTO that day. No deductible paid for insurance as I apparently had really good coverage at the time of the accident. This occurred in a no-fault state, Michigan.
Posted by karahm
3 Comments
I personally would not give a drunk driver who ran away a very good report.
That is more of a legal question than an insurance one. Generally though, once you have been made whole (using your own coverage) you don’t really have a claim for damages.
You lost a day of PTO and your premiums have likely increased (possibly at renewal) as a result of the defendant.
I highly doubt you’ll actually receive any restitution, but these are monetary damages that will be factored into any sentencing for the defendant. Be honest, submit the paperwork, then forget about it. If you receive compensation, great. If not, no harm since you weren’t expecting to, anyway.