What could happen? No insurance?

A lot of bad things if someone was hurt and they get a judgment,

If your son’s girlfriend was going to be driving it, your son should either have paid for insurance or transferred the car title into her name.

It could get bad, and rightfully so.
I am not sure what the legal ramifications might be but restitution for all damages and whatever fines and penalties under the legal system will surely come up and, the owners of the damaged vehicle can also file their own lawsuit. If there were injuries and medical bills, towing, etc…well…it’s not a pretty picture.

I’d advise contacting an attorney asap.

Hopefully, they are only going after fixing the car and no one was injured. If it is just a back fender, maybe it will be just $1,000 to fix it. The girlfriend and your son should pay, maybe they can split it. They can offer to pay it on time probably, just $50 a month, or whatever they can afford. If the driver was injured you definitely will need a lawyer.

I have “uninsured driver” on my auto policy to fix car or cover medical costs. What that means is the insurance company will go after the owner and driver. If the other auto that your son’s girlfriend hit was covered by a similar policy it maybe wise to get a lawyer. You would be dealing with the insurance company’s lawyers.

Welcome to Fluther.

It seems to me that the primary person responsible here is the driver of the car. But that won’t matter to the insurance company, who will expect to be made whole for their coverage of the injured party (and by “injured party” I mean the person who was rear-ended and suffered damage to the vehicle and may have also been injured personally; so one injured party could be the owner of the vehicle, and other injured parties – there could be more than one! – could be the driver and all passengers in the vehicle that was struck).

If your son’s girlfriend can’t cover the loss to the insurance company, then your son, the owner of the car, will be expected to step up and make them whole again – to pay them. The judgment to be expected is “your son and his girlfriend need to pay”, but this will be a civil matter, not criminal (at least based on what you’ve told us so far – if she was speeding, fleeing from a crime or evading a policeman who was attempting to stop her, for example, it could escalate into criminal court, too).

If they prove that they simply don’t have the cash to pay a civil judgment, then they will be expected to surrender assets – such as the vehicle itself, for starters – in settlement of the claim.

Thank you everyone, I knew this won’t be good! Now where to start? Oh boy!

Like people say, you need professional help. Especially if there are medical bills. I would start by researching lawyers who handle this kind of situation. What “this” kind of situation is, I’m not sure. I’ve had lawyers handle my injuries in a car accident. But defending against the insurer is another type of situation entirely.

Ask around. See who people know. Research it online. You’re probably looking at someone from a smaller firm, not a big corporate firm. I have no idea what kind of retainer you might have to pay.

I hope the car is out of commission now. So no one is tempted to drive in again before it gets insured. Or repaired.

Good luck.

Does your son have any assets? If he’s in jail I’m assuming not. You can’t get blood from a turnip.
He can be cited and fined for failure to insure his vehicle.
I don’t know the laws in your state, but I suggest he consult an attorney regarding his options.

Time to get busy! Thank you everyone, I don’t know what I’d do without this site! Blessings to all.

Laws vary from state to state. Good Luck. Please post an update as to how things turn out, and what you learn (as we’d all like to know for future reference what the laws may be and how they affect your issue).

Thank you.
JCA
The Update Lady

Will Do!

I don’t know what state your in, but in most states if the vehicle is not insured and the drive is insured under another policy then that policy would become primary. So if the girlfriend has a policy of her own or she a listed driver on her parents policy then the insurance would be primary. You should see fi any other police axist for the girlfriend. Good luck