Repair Demand After a Suspected Bump With No Damage

Attorney Answer

Probably not — a demand for money is not a judgment, and nobody has to pay for damage they did not cause. But "just ignore her" is a decision to make with a lawyer who knows your file, not on your own.

Two separate questions are tangled together here. One is whether you did anything wrong when you left a note. The other is whether you owe her money. They have different answers.

On the first: Florida's leaving-the-scene statute for property-damage crashes, Fla. Stat. § 316.061(1), provides: "The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such crash or as close thereto as possible, and shall forthwith return to, and in every event shall remain at, the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of s. 316.062. A person who violates this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083." The requirements it points to are in § 316.062(1): give your name, your address and the registration number of the vehicle you are driving, show your license on request, and render reasonable assistance to anyone injured. Leaving your information is the heart of that duty, and by your account you left it.

A separate statute, § 316.065(1), requires an immediate report to law enforcement only when someone is hurt or the apparent damage to a vehicle or other property is at least $2,000 — and it makes a violation a noncriminal traffic infraction, not a crime.

On the second question, money: she has to prove her case, not you. That means proving your car struck hers and that the repair she paid for was the damage you caused. She had the car fixed before anyone compared the two vehicles, which makes that harder for her, not for you. Your shop's finding that there was no transferred paint and no mark on your vehicle is evidence on your side. But "she probably cannot prove it" is not the same as "this is over," and whether to answer her, stay silent, or let an insurer answer for you is a legal choice.

What you can do

1. Tell your own auto insurer that someone has made a claim against you. Handling claims made against you is what the liability side of your policy is for.

2. Keep what you already have: photos of your vehicle, the written findings from the shop that inspected it, a copy of the note you left, and every text, voicemail and email from her. Do not delete anything.

3. Do not write out your own account of what happened for her, for her insurer, or for anyone else, and do not give a recorded statement. If police ever contact you about this, say nothing until you have spoken with a lawyer.

4. You were already told by a lawyer not to contact her. Keep following that instruction until a lawyer who has your full file tells you something different.

5. Ask a local lawyer whether to respond to her demand at all, and what to do if she files a small-claims case.

6. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who can ask you questions is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim from a crash is a negligence claim, and in Florida the deadline depends on the date of the accident. For accidents on or after March 24, 2023, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) allows two years for an action founded on negligence. For accidents before that date, the former four-year period under § 95.11 applied. Which one covers you turns on when the crash happened, and other facts can change the answer. Have a Florida attorney read the dates on your file before you rely on any of this. This page does not calculate your deadline.