Drunk driver wrecked our parked cars and gas pipe. Can I sue?

A drunk driver in a convertible hit my parked car on October 6. The impact caused my car to spin and hit my sister’s car in the front. Then, it also hit my mom’s car, pushing it backward into our gas pipe. The drunk driver also hit the back of my sister’s car, destroying our brick mailbox in the process. Thankfully, no one was in any of the cars since they were all parked. While our house wasn’t damaged, the gas pipe was severely affected, and we had to evacuate for about 1.5 days until the city fixed the leak. Even after that, we didn’t have gas or hot water for five days.

We’ve been trying to contact the insurance adjuster, who I’ll call Steve, from the drunk driver’s insurance company. My brother has left multiple voicemails, but Steve hasn’t responded. On November 4, we were offered a settlement: $9.4k if we keep the cars or $12.2k if we surrender them. My sister’s and my cars aren’t drivable, and the money isn’t enough to replace even one car.

My dad and brother want to close the case and take the money, saying that waiting too long might result in us getting nothing. I want to keep pushing, but I’m not sure what else to do. As of November 26, I’ve been told to call Steve’s office again, and if he doesn’t respond within 24 hours, they’ll escalate it to a supervisor.

We’ve spoken to 20 lawyers, but none want the case since there were no personal injuries involved. My sister and I are borrowing relatives’ cars while we figure this out. Does anyone have advice on how to handle this? Thank you.

Your options are:

  1. File a claim with your own insurance if you have collision coverage.
  2. Accept the settlement from the drunk driver’s insurance company.
  3. Sue the driver in court.

Keep in mind that vehicle valuations are based on the actual cash value (ACV), which is how much the car was worth just before the accident. You’re not entitled to the cost of replacing the cars but rather their ACV. If there are mistakes in the valuation report, like incorrect mileage or missing features, let the adjuster know so they can correct it.

@Uma
This assumes the drunk driver’s insurance has enough coverage to pay for all the damages. If they don’t, the policy limits will determine how the money is split among the claims.

You can sue the driver, but even if you win, collecting the money could be a challenge. If the driver loses their job or goes to jail, they might not have the funds to pay you.

If you have collision coverage, you could file a claim with your own insurance. They may recover the costs from the driver’s insurance, and you’d get your deductible back first if they manage to collect anything. However, there’s a chance you’ll run into policy limits if the damages exceed what the driver’s insurance can pay.