So someone hit my car while parked in my neighborhood

[Aznguy1872]

Hello,
so the story begins like this. About 5 months ago, I woke up in the morning around 7 am from a knock on my door with a man telling me that someone just rear ended my car. I go outside and see a car crashed into my bumper and a man in there passed out at the wheel. I call the cops to come and assist me in what to do. Anyway, we find out that the driver was DUI. Anyway, he was then charged with DUI, reckless driving and criminal mischief.

Now, today I received in a mail, a letter from his attorney discussing a Civil Compromise with the criminal mischief. So basicall a civil compromise is a way for the defendant to drop the criminal charges through settling it in a civil manner. At least thats how I perceived it. Anyway, they basically want to compensate me for my losses. The car was covered by his insurance company but I lost money due to missing work which came to be about 500 dollars. I asked my friends about what to do and they told me there is a rule of thumb where you times the amount you lost by 3 (so 500 *3= 1500) and then add an amount for the stress. I just want to know what you guys think I should do on determining the amount I should receive. Oh and if your a lawyer! Please give advice

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Money is nice and all but i would want him to fry for his DUI so I probably wouldn't take it.

 

[Aznguy1872]

Yeah, I was thinking about that too but oh, the guy was on Cocaine, cops found a cocaine pipe in his car. I do want him to feel the pain but the guy is 46 years old, has a family, I wanna at least give him a chance because I know how cruicial of having a clean record is. Another thing, the DUI and reckless driving he is already being accounted for, this civil compromise is only to the criminal mischief.

 

[EvilYoda]

You lost some money but it seems that you've gotten by without it - letting this guy go without teaching him a lesson is just begging for him to crash into someone else at 7AM a few months from now.

 

[SneakyStuff]

"In Oregon, a DUII charge is a misdemeanor crime unless you have three or more prior DUII convictions in the past ten years. Felony DUII charges are quite rare because few people have this extensive DUII history."

Take the civil settlement, make some money. I'm amazed how laxed Oregon is with DUI, in Maryland where I live a first offense gets your liscense suspended for upwards of 3 months, and a friend I knew paid over $2,000 in fines!

 

[Aznguy1872]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
You lost some money but it seems that you've gotten by without it - letting this guy go without teaching him a lesson is just begging for him to crash into someone else at 7AM a few months from now.

That is very true. But if he were to buy me on this civil compromise, what amount do you think is reasonable? If the man rejects then he can have that criminal mischief on his record for the rest of his life!

 

[Aznguy1872]

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
"In Oregon, a DUII charge is a misdemeanor crime unless you have three or more prior DUII convictions in the past ten years. Felony DUII charges are quite rare because few people have this extensive DUII history."

Take the civil settlement, make some money. I'm amazed how laxed Oregon is with DUI, in Maryland where I live a first offense gets your liscense suspended for upwards of 3 months, and a friend I knew paid over $2,000 in fines!

Yeah I didn't realize oregon was alittle bit on the lenient side, I really could use the money because I just finished school and tuition is a PAIN in the BUTT. What amount do you think is fair? I mentioned to the attorney that I lost about 500 dollars due to missing work and having to take it in. I then missed more work because the car was in the shop so I don't know exactly how much that would be. I'm hoping to come to a # around 1.5k which I think is very very reasonable.

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
"In Oregon, a DUII charge is a misdemeanor crime unless you have three or more prior DUII convictions in the past ten years. Felony DUII charges are quite rare because few people have this extensive DUII history."

Take the civil settlement, make some money. I'm amazed how laxed Oregon is with DUI, in Maryland where I live a first offense gets your liscense suspended for upwards of 3 months, and a friend I knew paid over $2,000 in fines!

Yeah, I really could use the money because I just finished school and tuition is a PAIN in the BUTT. What amount do you think is fair? I mentioned to the attorney that I lost about 500 dollars due to missing work and having to take it in. I then missed more work because the car was in the shop so I don't know exactly how much that would be. I'm hoping to come to a # around 1.5k which I think is very very reasonable.

$2,000, then again I just pulled that number out of the blue, sounds good though doesn't it?

 

[mugs]

"Stress" :laugh: $1500 seems like plenty. The DUI is probably costing him several thousand dollars.

 

[dougp]

You're out more than the $500 - or was it his insurance that covered the car? If it was your insurance, your premium will probably go up and the $500, so you need to figure that out to add on top of the $500 + lost wages.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
"In Oregon, a DUII charge is a misdemeanor crime unless you have three or more prior DUII convictions in the past ten years. Felony DUII charges are quite rare because few people have this extensive DUII history."

Take the civil settlement, make some money. I'm amazed how laxed Oregon is with DUI, in Maryland where I live a first offense gets your liscense suspended for upwards of 3 months, and a friend I knew paid over $2,000 in fines!

Yeah I didn't realize oregon was alittle bit on the lenient side, I really could use the money because I just finished school and tuition is a PAIN in the BUTT. What amount do you think is fair? I mentioned to the attorney that I lost about 500 dollars due to missing work and having to take it in. I then missed more work because the car was in the shop so I don't know exactly how much that would be. I'm hoping to come to a # around 1.5k which I think is very very reasonable.

To be honest I don't see how it is very very reasonable. I don't think you did anything wrong, but asking for anything other than what you are owed for damages and possibly missing work seems like you are just asking for more money and want to know how high you can push it. I would have an ethical problem with asking for anything other than what I was owed. Stress? Bullshit imo.

 

[Aznguy1872]

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
"In Oregon, a DUII charge is a misdemeanor crime unless you have three or more prior DUII convictions in the past ten years. Felony DUII charges are quite rare because few people have this extensive DUII history."

Take the civil settlement, make some money. I'm amazed how laxed Oregon is with DUI, in Maryland where I live a first offense gets your liscense suspended for upwards of 3 months, and a friend I knew paid over $2,000 in fines!

Yeah, I really could use the money because I just finished school and tuition is a PAIN in the BUTT. What amount do you think is fair? I mentioned to the attorney that I lost about 500 dollars due to missing work and having to take it in. I then missed more work because the car was in the shop so I don't know exactly how much that would be. I'm hoping to come to a # around 1.5k which I think is very very reasonable.

$2,000, then again I just pulled that number out of the blue, sounds good though doesn't it?

haha, yes $2,000 does sound good. I'll make it $1,750 dollars just to be in between you and mugs . I'll leave the attorney a message tonight about the amount. I am fine with whatever the amount is as long asit is fair and the man is getting what he deserves.

 

[RKS]

Personally I would ask for $5K and be happy when they counter with $2K.

 

[jamesbond007]

I'm not a lawyer, but I do like to think I'm a man with a head on his shoulders.

That said, I would not accept any kind of compromise without the maximum punch to the guy's nuts. (whether it's excessive fines, crazy criminal charges, hard times in life, etc) Ask any member of MADD and see what their viewpoint is on the subject. I'm sorry, but there's no excuse for being a complete dumbass in life when you're putting other people, potential included, into the equation. Would you think differently if you were inside your car on your way to work and he messed up your neck in the accident? I would surely hope so.

Here's how I see it - if you can't take precautions before you drink or you're just simply too dumb, don't frickin' drink. Ever. Oh, I know ATOT is great and all, but I'd consult a lawyer if I were you.

 

[Aznguy1872]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Originally posted by: SneakyStuff
"In Oregon, a DUII charge is a misdemeanor crime unless you have three or more prior DUII convictions in the past ten years. Felony DUII charges are quite rare because few people have this extensive DUII history."

Take the civil settlement, make some money. I'm amazed how laxed Oregon is with DUI, in Maryland where I live a first offense gets your liscense suspended for upwards of 3 months, and a friend I knew paid over $2,000 in fines!

Yeah I didn't realize oregon was alittle bit on the lenient side, I really could use the money because I just finished school and tuition is a PAIN in the BUTT. What amount do you think is fair? I mentioned to the attorney that I lost about 500 dollars due to missing work and having to take it in. I then missed more work because the car was in the shop so I don't know exactly how much that would be. I'm hoping to come to a # around 1.5k which I think is very very reasonable.

To be honest I don't see how it is very very reasonable. I don't think you did anything wrong, but asking for anything other than what you are owed for damages and possibly missing work seems like you are just asking for more money and want to know how high you can push it. I would have an ethical problem with asking for anything other than what I was owed. Stress? Bullshit imo.

Stress may be alittle bullshit but I did have some stress since the car was brand new (honda accord 2008) and just got smashed. Though I am curious to see what the man will offer, I am only going to accept what I feel is a reasonable amount.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Stress may be alittle bullshit but I did have some stress since the car was brand new (honda accord 2008) and just got smashed. Though I am curious to see what the man will offer, I am only going to accept what I feel is a reasonable amount.

I can understand that, but where did the multiply by 3 rule come from?

 

[Tiamat]

Id' go for 4-5x the loss wages, and see what they want to compromise to. I'd consider getting 3x loss wages to be a win

 

[Aznguy1872]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Stress may be alittle bullshit but I did have some stress since the car was brand new (honda accord 2008) and just got smashed. Though I am curious to see what the man will offer, I am only going to accept what I feel is a reasonable amount.

I can understand that, but where did the multiply by 3 rule come from?

My co worker was telling me that he was in a similar situation and said that, the amount you should be compensated should always be at least twice if not 3 times the amount of damages incurred just to make a statement that the defendant should think twice about doing a reckless act. Its more of a punitive compensation.

 

[EvilYoda]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Stress may be alittle bullshit but I did have some stress since the car was brand new (honda accord 2008) and just got smashed. Though I am curious to see what the man will offer, I am only going to accept what I feel is a reasonable amount.

I can understand that, but where did the multiply by 3 rule come from?

All-knowing friends.

OP, I don't know what to tell you - the one time I was in a serious accident, the offender's insurance company came to me with a number ("first strike", if you will, MtG players ), which I thought was reasonable and took it. You feel bad about him having it on his record and you need the money, so only you can honestly say how much you need.

 

[ttown]

it's not just a cost to fix your car -- but the loss of value that your car incurred due to his actions

a wrecked car that has been fixed is worth less than a car that never got wrecked -- so take that into account


also, if you have any influence as to the final charges on the guy i'd make a stink if he didn't get jail time and license revoked

how are you going to feel next week when you read in the paper that he was DUI again and this time he killed someone?

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: Aznguy1872

Stress may be alittle bullshit but I did have some stress since the car was brand new (honda accord 2008) and just got smashed. Though I am curious to see what the man will offer, I am only going to accept what I feel is a reasonable amount.

I can understand that, but where did the multiply by 3 rule come from?

My co worker was telling me that he was in a similar situation and said that, the amount you should be compensated should always be at least twice if not 3 times the amount of damages incurred just to make a statement that the defendant should think twice about doing a reckless act. Its more of a punitive compensation.

well you best be prepared to provide an itemized list of how you come to your figure...

I dont think "stress" is something you can place a dollar figure on.

 

[Aznguy1872]

Yes, most likely I will prepare a list that will lead to a sum of which I would expect as a compensation amount. But with that said, I will take in consideration of what each of you have told me about and make the best judgement that I can. I will leave the attorney a message that will discuss all the costs that should be incurred into the compensation amount and wait for an offer, if the offer is right then I'l'l accept, if its too low then I'll make a counter offer. If they decide to turn it down and keep the criminal mischief then so be it. Either way, I have nothing to lose but anything to gain. Thank you all.