QuestionQUESTION: I recently had my truck stolen and when it was recovered there was $5000 worth of visual damage(not mechanical)to my truck. Insurance company decided to repair it based on their initial estimate. Well turns out that it needed $3600 more worth of mechanical repairs after they did the outside repairs(paint, seats, windows, etc). The entire cost to repair was $8600 although the vehicle is only worth $7400. I have had the truck for one week and it has already broken down again. They repaired the rear and it has gone up again and now the engine light and oil light is on. I had the truck towed back to the shop and contacted Geico to reopen my claim. What are my rights as far as having it listed as a total loss? I know that I have pasted MD's threshold amt for total loss write off. What can I do now? Will the insurance co put even more money in it even though they have already past what the vehicle is worth in repairs already?
ANSWER: April,
Unfortunately, you cannot control whether your insurance company deems your vehicle a total loss. Additionally, I think you would be doing yourself a dis-service if you pressed the matter. Your insurance company generally only owes you for either the repair of your vehicle or the value of your vehicle, whichever is less. The whichever is less part is the important part. If they change their mind and total your vehicle, then they are done with the claim! You should press for the repair of your vehicle since they misjudged the amount of damages.
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QUESTION: I just got a call from the insurance adjuster and was told that the engine is blown and that they will not be repairing it. Do I have any recourse on this issue. They said it was no oil in the car. Shouldn't the body shop have checked that before release?
ANSWER: April,
Wow, that is unfortunate. You are going to have a hard time with this one. I can give you all the advice in the world and I don't think it is going to help you with your case. You will likely need an attorney. Surely, in a recovered theft, there is some liability on the shop for not checking the oil level after repair, but the question is whether or not the thieves ran the oil out, or if it was simply a maintenance issue that was there before the vehicle was stolen. You are going to have a hard time with this one.
I can tell you what I would do, but I am an experienced litigator. I would immediately contact the shop and demand payment for my vehicle, in writing. They should have a garage liability policy that will pay you for their "alleged" negligent repair. Your case really demands the attention of a legal professional. It seems there may be some less than talented professionals working for both your insurance company and the garage that performed repairs. Your recourse is going to be based in tort. Feel free to call us if you want to discuss further, you are in a mess.
JP
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QUESTION: What type of attorney should I be looking for?
AnswerApril,
I would simply look up any attorney, call them and ask for a referral for your type of case. It may be difficult to locate an attorney that will take a case that is worth less than $10K. I routinely provide assistance to individuals seeking to utilize small claims court, and sometimes, this is the most cost effective way to get a resolution to claims of smaller value that attorneys may not want to take on.
If you are resolved enough to do some research and persistent enough to follow through with a small claims suit, you could possibly navigate this mess yourself. You need to be keeping great documentation and will need to look up the rules for small claims court in your area.
Keep in mind that there are people out there that can assist you for free. Although you won't get legal advice from a non-attorney, you could surely get some help determining the procedure you need to follow in order to get your damages addressed.
I hope this helps. I am restricted from giving attorney referrals due to the type of business I run.
JP
