Asked by user in New Jersey. Answered by Enjuris Editors.
Hello, there.
This sounds like a sticky situation for a lot of reasons. There are a couple of immediate issues. First, if Party A feels as though their safety is being threatened, they need to tell the police right away.
Second, each party should contact a lawyer. Leaving the scene of an accident without providing your contact information, vehicle registration, and insurance could be considered a hit-and-run, even if both parties agreed to settle without using an insurance company.
Third, the owner of the vehicle that Party A was driving needs to be involved in this, even if they don’t want to be — as the owner of the vehicle, it’s just not a choice. Insurance follows the vehicle, regardless of who is driving, assuming the driver had the owner’s permission. If Party A caused an accident while driving someone else’s car, the car’s owner needs to be involved in the settlement (even if they hold Party A responsible for paying damages to Party B).
Fourth, it’s unfortunately too late to get a police report and it could be too late for either party to file an insurance claim. Most insurance companies require their insureds to file a report (even if they don’t plan to make a claim) within a certain period of time. If the parties did not do so, they might lose the ability to use insurance for the accident. One of the benefits to insurance is that the adjusters work out the negotiations and the drivers don’t need to interact with each other, at all (and it sounds like Party B is moving pretty aggressively here).
Since it’s unclear who was at fault for the accident, it would be in both parties’ best interest to seek the advice of a car accident lawyer.. It sounds as though Party B intends to move forward with a claim, especially if they can’t get a response from Party A. If Party A (and the vehicle owner) is uncooperative, that could end up creating more problems for them later.
Please consider contacting a personal injury lawyer for advice on how to resolve this issue.