What can I do if I was involved in a car accident with no insurance? 24 Answers as of January 11, 2012

You are fortunate the other driver was not injured. You are responsible for the accident as you failed to yield the right-of-way. You will be liable for all expenses incurred by the other driver's insurance. You will not be able to get a driver's license until you enter into a repayment agreement with the other driver's insurance. The debt cannot be discharged.

Unfortunately you have very little protection in the law, but the fact that you cannot afford insurance helps you in one way-very few people will attempt to collect from a person that has no insurance, unless they are visibly wealthy. If the person driving the truck files a complaint with the DMV, they may hold your license unless you agree to pay compensation to the other party in the accident. Because you were a left turning vehicle, you are presumed at fault. One detail in your narrative indicates some liability, comparatively speaking, on the other party-the law requires one to slow down when approaching an intersection. The fact that the truck did not slow as he entered would give him some percentage of fault, even though the left turning vehicle is always supposed to yield. Because the truck owner was uninjured, he may also be less willing to try to collect from you, especially in your circumstances. Some hungry attorney may also try to sue on your behalf against the truck owner because of the magnitude of your damages. With all of your injuries, even a small percentage of fault on the other driver may yield some compensation. The first ten thousand of any claim you may have will be forfeited by you because of not having insurance and Louisiana's "no pay, no play" statute.

As far as determining liability, the insurance company will typically do all it can to determine liability belongs to someone other than their own insured. Find a local attorney and take him/her the police report and try to locate good credible witnesses to prove your case. If you can prove you were not responsible for the accident, the other driver will likely have insurance to cover your property damage and bodily injury.

You indicate you turned left in the face on oncoming traffic. In due course the carrier of the other driver is likely to look to you to pay for the property damage. If you don't cooperate in the long run DMV may take your license. See a lawyer if you get mail from the carrier or DMV.

You were the one to turn left in front of an oncoming vehicle, so you are at fault. With no insurance, you are stuck with all of your medical bills. The other driver apparantly does have coverage for his property damage so he will collect on that. If he wasn't injured, there is nothing to sue you for. Since you are unemployed, you will probably end up in bankruptcy for the medical bills.

He will have "uninsured" coverage, so that his insurance will pay for any of his damages and injuries. However, they may obtain a judgment against you and it may affect your license. They can file something with the dept of revenue, driver's license bureau that suspends your license, so if you enter into a payment agreement with them, you must follow it. Your injuries are trickier. It sounds like you were largely at fault. However, if there were things he could have done to avoid the accident, he may be responsible for part of your damages, even if he is only 10% to blame.

Whether you have insurance on your car or have it plated has nothing to do with fault for the collision and will not prevent you from making a valid claim against the other driver.

It really depends. Hopefully the person you were in the accident with has insurance on his end that can cover any damages he sustained. As far as your injuries, there is not really anything you can do. If you also are not covered by health insurance, you will need to try to negotiate your medical bills with all of your treatment providers. At least know one was permanently injured or killed - otherwise this lesson would be much more costly. Good luck with your recovery.

If the oncoming truck had a green light and was going straight and you were turning, you were probably at fault. If you have extraordinary assets, you might get sued. If not, you probably won't because even if he got a judgment against you, you could declare bankruptcy and discharge the debt.

His insurance will probably pay his damages. However, his insurance company will have a right to sue you for the damages. If you do not own a house, you are what we call "judgment proof". That is because the court can sell you assets to pay a judgment, but most personal property is exempt from this. The insurance company may not sue you because it would be a waste of time. If they do, you cannot be put in jail or punishe for not paying the judgment. Unfortunately, the highway department can suspend your license if you cause property damage and do not pay for it. My advice is to not worry about it too much. If you license is suspended, you will get a notice in the mail.. If you get sued, you will have a judgment against you. It will be good for 10 years, but if you do not acquire more than 50,000.00 in house during that time, the cannot force you to pay it. You will get through this.