Auto Insurance Claims: Secondary Incident, small claims court, representitive

Question
About a month and a half ago, a friend backed into my car while it was parked in her driveway.  The hitch on the back of her car caused a fair amount of damage to the front of my truck.  Her insurance company, Geico, appraised my car at a local shop and evaluated the exterior damage.  They told me that when the mechanics began to work on the car, if they found additional damage once they opened the hood and took off the bumper, it would be paid for.  

I found a repair shop and they have ordered parts for the repair, but this weekend when I was driving the truck, the hood flew up and smacked into the windshield and damaged the hood and the windshield.  When I looked under the hood, I could see that the brace for the mechanism that locks the hood down is bent at the same place where my grill has been damaged by the initial crash.  The people at Geico have told me that this is a second incident that is separate from the initial incident and they will not appraise or cover any damages to my windshield or hood. When I asked why they never looked under the hood during in the first place, he told me that they don't open the hood because sometimes the hood wil not shut properly again.   I have spoken to the appraiser and his manager, but they won't budge.  Can I take them to small claims court for the cost of the additional repairs to the hood and windshield?  

Answer
Hi Anne,

Yes you can go to small claims court. However, You would have to file suit against your friend that hit your truck, not Geico. She is the one that caused the damage and she is the one that owes you the money. You are only dealing with Geico becaused she hired them to represent her. If you can not reach an agreement with her representitive, then you would have to file suit against her. That's just the way it works.

You can continue to try to move up the chain of command at Geico until you reach some intelligent life. The is a related damage. You had no way of knowing the hood would fly up. You did not open the hood and neither did their inspector. You should argue the point as much as possible.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh