QuestionQUESTION: My husband was driving our 1989 Volvo home from work (eastbound) at 6:25 pm under dry and sunny conditions when a US Park Service officer, traveling in the opposite direction (westbound), failed to yield to oncoming traffic (our Volvo) and made a left turn into the path of our car. Traffic was congested and my husband was traveling at about 20 mph, but could not stop in time to avoid hitting the US Park Service sedan which appears to have been “shooting the gap” between oncoming cars. The front right bumper, headlight, hood and right side panel were all damaged in the collision. The US Park Police vehicle, a 1998 4dr Crown Victoria, sustained damage to its right rear door. The officer was in uniform, but when my husband asked what he was doing in the neighborhood, he replied “I live about a mile from here.” Even though the man was in uniform, I believe he was off-duty and was returning home in the US Park Service vehicle. I do not believe he was conducting US government business at the time of the accident. A county police officer came to the scene and took a report. I asked if my husband had the right of way and he replied “Yes.” No one was hurt in the accident, however, the insurance company will probably determine that the cost to repair the vehicle is more than its value and want to declare it a total loss. The accident occurred at an intersection where there is no traffic light and people are impatient to turn left and often must wait a while because of oncoming commuter traffic. The officer exercised very poor judgment in turning left. He put innocent lives at risk because he was in a hurry. This was a very selfish thing to do because now it is going to cost us money and time to deal with this. He will probably just turn in his damaged US government car for another, the taxpayers will pay to repair it, and he might get a slap on the wrist. This was a negligent act, not an accident, by a government employee driving a government car while not on government business, and a blatant violation of traffic laws. An accident is when a vehicle hits a patch of black ice and skids into another vehicle. No one should be above the law, including police officers and public officials. My Question: Can we bring a small claims suit for the cost of repairs against this man if the insurance company declares the car a total loss? I do not believe he was acting as an agent of the government at the time of the accident, therefore can’t he be treated as an ordinary citizen even though he was driving a government owned car? We just finished putting one child through college and have another one who is a freshman. My husband has maintained this car and planned to keep it several more years and cannot afford to buy a replacement vehicle at this time. I’m sure the insurance company and the US government couldn’t care less, but I don’t think justice will be served if we end up bearing the financial costs incurred due to this man’s negligent act. The only good thing about this is that no one was injured. Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy request.
ANSWER: Hi Anne,
It does not matter if the park officer was on duty or not. He was negligent. The claim however will likely be handled by a government claims department. You would be better off to deal with your own insurance company if you have collision coverage. They will pay either the cost to repair, if repairable or the fair market value if declared a total loss. Your insurance conmpany will then seek reimbursement from the government, which could take a while.
Unfortunately, there would be nothing gained by filing a small claims law suit. All you would be entitled to is either the cost of repair or the market value if totalled. You will save yourself a lot of aggrivation by just filing with your own insurance.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
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QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response. Our insurance company says the car is a total loss but is offering us very little for it. We think it has a higher value since 6 months ago we sold the same make and model car (that was 2 years older and in poorer condition) to a private party for hundreds more than the insurance company is offering us. What is the best way to negotiate with the insurance company? We live in Virginia. The insurance company said they couldn't find the same year of car and also claimed that the car had excess mileage when in fact its average yearly mileage is 11,000 over 18 years. They told us the average mileage on a car of this age is 170,000. We can decide to keep the car and the insurance company will pay us what they say it is worth less a 20 percent salvage fee and our deductible. They said they would try to get the deductible back from the US Park Police but how hard would they really try? If we take this route, can we sue the other driver for the salvage fee and the deductible if the US Park Police refuses to respond to the subrogation documents from the insurance company?
AnswerHi Anne,
You should call around to salvage yards to bet bids of the salvage value. 20% sounds a bit high on a 17 year old car.
You would not be able to sue the other driver for the salvage fee because that is actually the cost of buying back the car from your insurance company.
You can research the value of your car on the following:
1) www.nada.com
2) www.kbb.com
3) www.edmunds.com
4) www.autotrader.com
The last one willallow you to look for cars like yours actually for sale. You should average all values to determine an average value. The use this information to try to negotiate the price. If the insurance company will still not negotiate with you, you will need to hire an independent appraiser to appraise the value of the car. This will cost you generally around $200. to $300.
I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh
