Towing Issues: Georgia/Flatbed damaged bumper, nissan 240sx, small claims court

Question
Before I get into it.  I have always liked the company that my insurance used in this case.  They were the only people I would call before I decided to get roadside just in case.  Now, I have a 1996 Nissan 240sx.  The whole car sits OEM. Height, wheels and tire size, you name it.  I was present for the load up and saw the driver didn't pull forward enough, he had nearly 30 yards in front of him before any sort of turning would have become an issue.  He dropped the flatbed and attempted to drive the car up backwards (I am not unfamiliar with this, just giving the picture) and scrapped the under side of the front bumper really bad because he didn't have the proper angle.  I checked to make sure that only the bottom trim piece was effected and was satisfied.  Besides taking the car to the wrong place and leaving it there for about 20 minutes, he finally got it to the right place and I was not there to see the drop off.  When I went to go pick it up, the bumper that wraps the entire front from side to side to the wheel wells, was pushed out about halfway up the edge of both sides.  The paint is cracked or chipped away at these locations as well as where the bumper is screwed onto the fenders.  Some of the damage is so bad that the primer even cracked off leaving only bare metal.  The company that towed it insists no damage incurred during transport, but heaven knows I know my car better than them.  Small claims court?  Approach their insurance directly?  Or let my insurance charge me the whole thing?

Answer
Well I am guessing that by your comment regarding "proper angle" is referring to the angle of  the flatbed when its set back and lowered. That is not something that can be changed.

The only way to do something with that is to park the tow truck in a hole or dip when the tires are a bit lower than the normal pavement.  
But generally if the vehicle is being towed on a flatbed, be it stock or modified you will find that its not totally possible to avoid scraping part of the vehicle on the ground if it is loaded either frontward or rearward.
(geez and people think that flatbeds are the only way to prevent damage while towing)

Now as to when it was unloaded, if you will look back and think about your vehicle, it was loaded backwards, so that means that if it was scraped going up backwards, then the bumper would be pulled out towards the front of the vehicle. You said you watched it being loaded. So you can understand what I am saying.

Now if it was unloaded, then it would roll down the flatbed and the front parts would be scraping again, but it would be pushing the front bumper backwards towards the tires (physics here) and not outward.

Sounds like maybe at the repair shop something happened, such as a lift - hoist might not of been moved all the way out of the way when it was moved.

Now as to how to handle the damage claim, you can talk to the tow company more and see what they say, but it sounds like you have done about as much as you can right now. If they deny the claim then you can always go the Small Claims Court route. But as I mentioned, if you do not have total proof then you will have a huge uphill battle as there is a "reasonable doubt" that there is another possible business that it could be responsible (the repair shop)

Now if you go though your insurance company, they have a lot of people who specialize in things like this and have lawyers who can help you more. BUT the draw back on this is that you might find that they will raise your rates as you have a "CLAIM" on your policy. Catch 22 this way.


Good luck and hope this helped you a bit.