Alright,

Some background:
I am a commerical truck driver (for the time being),

I was involved in an accident on the 2nd of september. The other party involved was driving a city owned work truck. Driver changed lanes into the side of my truck, minor damage to my rig (company truck), minor damage to the work truck, and moderate damage to a 3rd party/witness vehicle.

No injuries, except for a sore back that I've had for a while

I purchased a copy of the police report to have proof that the accident was NOT my fault, and indeed the officer saw it my way, and reported the accident was caused by an unsafe lane change... and noted that it was a violation of the California Vehicle code.

I did lose a few days of work (I am paid by the mile) while my truck was down for the minor repairs/DOT inspection to ensure that it was safe to drive.

I am being 'urged' to contact a lawyer regarding legal (monetary) damages that I may be able to collect from the city whose truck was involved.

Again, I was not injured in the accident, but did miss some work. This does affect my personal auto insurance, as well as go on my personal/professional driving reccord... this is what Im most pissed about.

I just dont want to be the typical ashole you hear about that sues over the little bullshit things... I have never been in a situation like this however.

Just wanted to get the 'hives' opinion on this..

Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions.


edited for horrible spelll speel....typing  

It cost you moeny, is goin gto affect your insurance as well as your driver's abstract. yeah, I would sue, if only to cover the loss of wages as well as the increase in insurance you will have ot deal with, if you can get punitive damages awarded for the injury it has cost your driving record I would do that as well.

I'd contact the persons insurance comapany and ask for the wadges you would've made if you were driving those days. Long as it's not some outragious amount I'd think most will pay up.

But I'm young and never been through that kinda thing, so I couldn't say.

Edit to add: I'd only sue if they wouldn't want to pay for justified amounts. Remember most lawyers want 30% or more.

First thing would be to send a bill or request for reimbursement. THat way a lawyer doesnt take a cut.

I can tell you from experience, sometimes it sucks to be late to the party. i.e. The person whose fault it is gets a lawyer to spin it and sue you first. People can amend police reports and spin the truth. Sue first.

Quoted: I am being 'urged' to contact a lawyer regarding legal (monetary) damages that I may be able to collect from the city whose truck was involved.

And who is doing this urging? An attorney that trolls police reports looking for work? An attorney who stands to gain 30% of your judgement? An ambulance chaser?


Or is it someone else?

Quoted: Long as it's not some outragious amount I'd think most will pay up.

Been there once and that's exactly what happened.  There was a minor hassle between my insurance company and that of the other party, but in the end they paid up.  Incident never went to court or even talked to a lawyer.

Quoted: Quoted: I am being 'urged' to contact a lawyer regarding legal (monetary) damages that I may be able to collect from the city whose truck was involved. And who is doing this urging? An attorney that trolls police reports looking for work? An attorney who stands to gain 30% of your judgement? An ambulance chaser? Or is it someone else?

No, actually its my company that is doing most of the urging... They are going to be going after the city for damages to the truck.. but Im on my own for 'lost wages' and the like.

After my wifes last "incident" the insurance agent told us that our monthly payments would increase and stay there until claim free status would be considered again. The agent stated that it would be about one year before our payments would go back to what they were. She was correct. I would inquire to your insurance agent, to see if you would have a similar situation. Then you could factually state that this is a direct cause of your "no fault" accident, plus lost wages, and any medical bills.

Hey its worth a try at least. Oh, but put it in writing, not just an over the phone conversation.

As a side, sorry to hear about your run-in with a city worker.

If you have provable "damages",  anything YOU paid and were not reimbursed, lost wages, insurance increases, etc, you can probably take them to Small Claims Court yourself.

If someone could not take the time to look in the mirror or out the back window to change lanes then there is no reason why you should pay for their mistake.

You may not be able to sue the city.
Columbus, Ohio has  municipal immunity to avoid  such petty annoyances
if I remember correctly.  The subjects here have been hit by police cars,
fire equipment and snow plows and had to fix their own vehicles.

Ever wonder *why* insurance rates go up after accidents?

Do you think that just maybe it's because everybody who could conceivably "bring legal action" does so, readily and with enthusiasm?  

The only loss you seem to have suffered was lost wages.  You lose time from work for all sorts of reasons.  In California, these cases seem to get settled based on some multiple of actual losses or costs for treatment to restore you to the perfectly imperfect state you were in before the accident.


Only you can know if it's worth it to try and wring a few bucks out of them.  It's not necessary to feed the lawyers on such a case, though you might do a little better if one negotiates for you.