What to do with your car after an accident. Instructions

Publication date: 03/04/2019 Number of views: 5924

Author: Ermakov Andrey Valerievich Lawyer, partner of the Legal Agency of St. Petersburg Articles written: 20

The situation when an insurance company files a lawsuit against the culprit of an accident in order to recover material damage based on the compensation paid to the injured party is becoming more and more common every year. If previously relatively little-known organizations that had close ties with collection agencies committed similar sins, today you can get a claim for subrogation or recourse from almost any insurance company. Recently, there has been increased activity on the part of the insurance company, which is trying to compensate for its losses under CASCO or OSAGO contracts by filing lawsuits against those responsible for the accident. There is a trend: if the accident occurred in 2015 or 2021 (the statute of limitations is about to expire), and the amount of paid material damage exceeds 100-120 thousand rubles, you can expect a quick summons from the court. There are many explanations for this: the unstable economic situation in the country, a sharply increased number of vehicles, competition in the market, tightening legislation in the field of insurance companies. In order to somehow preserve their assets and not become bankrupt, they are forced to resort to subrogation and recourse claims. What to do if the insurance company sues the person responsible for the accident, what is the difference between recourse and subrogation, is it possible to reduce the amount of payments for a lawsuit and how to protect your property rights? Answers to these and related questions are provided by professional lawyers in the field of insurance law and civil law.

When is legal action necessary against the culprit of an accident?

It's no secret that after an accident, an insurance company compensates for damage only within the insured amount. In order to fully compensate for the damage caused from the culprit of the accident, the victim has the right to go to court with a demand to recover, in addition to the insurance amount, the actual amount of damage.

The need to recover damages from the culprit of an accident arises when:

• the person at fault left the scene of the accident
• the person at fault for the accident did not have title documents for the vehicle
• the accident that occurred goes beyond the scope of insurance cases in which monetary compensation was provided under compulsory motor liability insurance
• the injured person wishes to exercise the right to recover compensation for moral damage from the culprit
• the calculation of the amount of damage was greater than the permissible limits of motor third party liability under compulsory motor liability insurance (400,000 for payments to the victim in connection with damage to property and 500,000 for payments to the victim in connection with damage to life and health, also 25 thousand for payments for funeral expenses)
• There is no insurance contract . Not all drivers insure their civil liability against damage and drive without “insurance”. And some manage to issue a compulsory motor liability insurance policy in the “gateway”, that is, to purchase a compulsory motor liability insurance policy from unscrupulous sellers, that is, a fake one. Then the insurance company refuses to pay
• recovery of wear and tear from the culprit of the accident. Under compulsory motor liability insurance, a citizen will receive insurance compensation taking into account the wear and tear of the parts being replaced. He may be paid a small amount if the car is “old”. Therefore, the injured party has the right to appeal directly to the tortfeasor with a demand for recovery of the difference.

Recovery without taking into account wear and tear from the culprit

Very often, the cost of repairs turns out to be significantly more than what the insurer paid. This happens if the car was badly damaged in an accident, or the car is of great value.

Then the injured party has the right to demand compensation for damage from the culprit of the accident that exceeds the limit provided for by the insurer’s liability without taking into account wear and tear of parts. That is, a citizen injured in an accident can receive from the insurance company the cost of restoration repairs, taking into account wear and tear of parts, and the citizen can receive all other damage from the party at fault in the accident.

Lawyers call this the difference between the insurance payment and the actual damage. In this case, the victim must prove that the amount of his damage is actually greater than the amount received from the insurance company. The proof is, as a rule, a well-executed examination, or checks and receipts for payment for parts and work. If the person at fault for the accident refuses to voluntarily pay for the damage, you can safely go to court.

USEFUL : read the full procedure for compensation for damage after an accident at the link

How to behave in the event of an accident if you are the culprit

Stress is not the best help. If an emergency situation occurs on the highway, the vehicle owner needs to think not about whether I am the culprit of the accident, I have compulsory motor liability insurance, or whether I owe money to anyone.

You should adhere to the following algorithm of behavior:

1. Suppress emotions. Drink water, take a few deep breaths.
2. Activate emergency lighting, place a warning sign 30 meters from the car.
3. Inspect the scene of the incident, provide first aid to the victims, call emergency services.
4. If there are eyewitnesses, write down their passport details and take phone numbers. When time allows, copy information from the recorders.
5. Conduct a damage assessment. For damages amounting to less than 50,000 rubles, you can, in agreement with the participants in the accident, come to a decision to draw up a European protocol. If not, report the event to the traffic police.
6. Inform your insurance company of the situation. Follow the instructions received.
7. Record as fully as possible the entire situation of the incident in photos and videos.

Related article: Car insurance under MTPL, what its cost depends on and where it’s cheaper to get it in 2021

Important! Even if the road user is at fault for the accident, MTPL insurance will help avoid payments to the injured party, provided that they behave correctly. Under no circumstances should you pull aside, take other drivers to their homes and hospitals, run away somewhere and sign blank forms. For this, the civil liability of the culprit of the accident under compulsory motor liability insurance may be cancelled.

Do I need to file a claim with the person at fault for the accident?

The mandatory nature of compliance with the pre-trial procedure for filing a claim with the person responsible for the accident is not provided for by law; therefore, this document is an option for agreeing on compromises and concessions to resolve the dispute before trial.

The injured person, when resolving the issue of compensation for harm as a result of an accident, can resort to drawing up a claim against the culprit in order to agree on compensation for (material, moral) damage on a voluntary basis, which can subsequently be settled by concluding an agreement between the participants in the accident or a receipt from the culprit .

There are often situations when the culprit voluntarily refuses to pay for the damage caused, then by filing a claim it is necessary to induce this, and also to show the seriousness of intentions to go to court if the requirements specified in the claim are not met.

USEFUL : order a claim from our lawyer, watch a video with tips on drawing up a procedural document for the second driver

How to get insurance compensation for the person at fault in an accident

As in the case of compulsory motor liability insurance, the driver cannot take any actions to turn the situation in his favor.

Article on the topic: Actions in case of loss of the MTPL policy and how to restore it

You need to collect the following documents:

• protocol;
• policy;
• alcohol test result;
• certificate of health damage;
• damage assessment report;
• application for payment.

Note! Documents must be submitted to the company that sold the policy no later than five days after the event occurred or the policyholder recovered.

How to file a claim against the person responsible for an accident?

To draw up a statement of claim, the law does not establish an official template; it is important to be guided by the norms of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation; also, claims must be stated taking into account the following basic principles:

1. Briefness of the content set out in the claims . Circumstances must be contained only relevant to the subject of the statement of claim.
2. Content validity . Claims must have rules of substantive and procedural law that also relate to the substantiation of the stated circumstances
3. Content formatting . The text format must be set uniform throughout the entire text, with the most commonly used sizes - 14 point, spacing - 1.5

The statement of claim for compensation for damage caused by an accident by its nature contains the following information:

• ​ name of the court to which the claim is filed
• ​ Full name, telephone number, e-mail for communication between the Plaintiff and the Defendant
• ​ the circumstances of the dispute as a result of which the right was violated, resulting in harm to health or death
• ​motivation of the requirements - what is the basis for the person who received harm as a result of an accident and why
• ​pleading part - what measures, in the opinion of the injured person, should be
• a list of documents necessary to substantiate the circumstances referred to by the Plaintiff
• ​ when the statement of claim was drawn up (date) and the sender’s signature

USEFUL : more advice from a lawyer on filing a claim in court in the next video

The procedure for collecting wear and tear from the culprit of an accident

Recovery of wear and tear from the culprit of an accident consists of the following actions:

1. correct registration of an accident in accordance with the European Protocol or calling the traffic police officers if the damage caused exceeded the limit established by motor vehicle liability
2. contacting the insurance company (the insurance company of the culprit) to receive insurance payment for damage caused as a result of an accident
3. drawing up a claim against the person at fault, indicating in the attachments copies of documents confirming the fact of the accident, as a result of which handing it over to the other party with signature and stamp on your copy
4. If there are no answers to your demands, file a claim in court

Is compensation paid to those at fault?

Not everyone knows what will happen to their insurance when they are at fault in an accident. Many drivers buy an MTPL policy just to have it, without thinking about its purpose. Meanwhile, this document protects the property interests not of the owner, but of the victims in the incident that he provoked. Such rules are established by Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 40 “On OSAGO”. The need for this legal act was due to the almost complete impossibility of victims to receive compensation for damage to their property and health.

The law spells out exactly what will happen to insurance if the driver is at fault in an accident. It is paid to the victims. The guilty person has no right to it.

Article on the topic: Rising prices for compulsory motor vehicle insurance

Important! To protect your vehicle, purchase a CASCO policy. It applies only to equipment, third parties have nothing to do with it.

If both sides are to blame

Drivers often face a dilemma: should I, the culprit of an accident with compulsory motor liability insurance, pay the victim for damages if he is also at fault. Such situations are not uncommon and happen quite often. The fact of involvement is determined by traffic police officers and recorded in the protocols. The document is usually final and appealing against it is very problematic.

In such situations, mutual payments are made from the companies that issued policies to the participants in the incident in amounts commensurate with the damage. Today, their limit is 400,000 rubles for equipment and 500,000 rubles for harm to health. Here, too, there may be exceptions related to circumstances, namely to the state and behavior of those involved in the event.

Important! If the amount of damage is greater than the maximum limits, then the issue of payments is already resolved between the participants in the incident. If they do not agree, then the issue is brought up for judicial review.

If the culprit of the accident is the victim

After an accident, the thought arises whether I, the victim of an accident myself, should pay the victim for the damage and who will pay me. Here again we need to return to the legislation - the effect of compulsory motor liability insurance does not apply to its carriers. And then only within the limits of the indemnity specified in the policy. It can be standard or extended, up to 6,000,000 rubles.

What does the insurance company face for the person at fault in an accident without victims? Nothing if he did not fall under the recourse, the conditions for the presentation of which are prescribed in Federal Law-40.

Important! If you have compulsory motor liability insurance, the culprit of the accident will be helped by a CASCO and accident insurance policy. Here the citizen determines the amount of coverage himself.

Recovery of the difference from the culprit of a traffic accident

When collecting the difference between the insurance payment and the actual damage caused as a result of an accident, it is necessary to file a claim with the court at the place of residence of the Defendant, depending on the presented price of the claim:

• Not exceeding 50 (fifty) thousand rubles, then the case has jurisdiction to be heard in the magistrate’s court
• Exceeding 50 (fifty) thousand rubles, then the case has jurisdiction to be heard in the district court

In addition to compensation for material damage, the victim also has the right to recover compensation for moral damage and lost earnings. This category implies an evaluation criterion that is established by the court taking into account all the evidence provided.

Is it possible to recover damages from the cyclist at fault?

Bicycle owners are not subject to compulsory insurance due to the fact that the bicycle is not a source of increased danger; therefore, the culprit cyclist is liable in accordance with civil law. Compensation for damage is carried out in court.

To bring the owner of a bicycle to justice, it is necessary to establish the degree of guilt and the presence of intent, as a result of which the court can relieve liability partially or in full.

How can the culprit of an accident reduce the penalty?

Do not forget that you can completely fight off the amount collected from you by disputing fault in a traffic accident. If the procedure for proving the guilt of the second participant is successful, then it will be possible to ask for compensation in your favor.

In accordance with the law, reducing the amount of recovery from the culprit of an accident is possible by challenging the assessment of damage. You have the right to submit a forensic examination of the case or conduct your own, challenging the conclusions of the specialist who prepared the report for the second party in the case, watch the video with tips on challenging the examination of the case:

Do I need to contact insurers?

MTPL insurance will help the at-fault party in the event of an accident, provided that it takes correct and timely action. If the driver is conscious, he must transmit the relevant information from the scene as soon as possible. This need is dictated by the expediency of attracting an emergency commissioner who can turn the situation in his favor.

When for some reason it was not possible to call immediately (phone broke, injury, detention, stress), then this must be done within 24 hours from the moment of the accident. When drawing up the Europrotocol, it is also necessary to contact the insurer within 24 hours, and no later than 5 days to hand over the completed papers to him.

Important! If such an obligation is not fulfilled, financial responsibility from the company will be transferred to the culprit of the accident, and compulsory motor liability insurance will not help.

What to do if the person at fault for the accident has no money?

If a settlement agreement was not concluded between the culprit and the victim as a result of an accident at the court hearing and it was not possible to reach an agreement to voluntarily compensate for the damage suffered, then first of all, after the decision is made, it is necessary to obtain and submit to the bailiff service at the place of registration of the guilty person a writ of execution for initiation of enforcement proceedings.

The deadline for filing a writ of execution is three years from the date the court decision enters into legal force. Also, enforcement proceedings will not be terminated until the culprit’s obligation to you is properly fulfilled.

The procedure for the enforcement of a writ of execution begins when the debtor is entered into the database of enforcement proceedings, subsequently all bank accounts of the debtor are automatically blocked, a request is sent to the Federal Tax Service, and if there is information about employment, wages will be seized and up to 50% will be deducted in your favor, also the debtor is prohibited from traveling abroad.

The restrictions provided for by law are a guarantee for the restoration of the violated rights of citizens.

INTERESTING : read our legal practice on collecting damages from the culprit of a traffic situation, and also watch a video with a review of an injured pedestrian