Your Car Is Worth Less After an Accident
A car that has been damaged in an accident and repaired is worth less than an identical car that has not been damaged. In the law, this is called diminished value and can be a cause for legal action.
Determining Diminished Value
Arriving at a vehicle’s pre-crash fair market value doesn’t require much knowledge or skill. Online services like Edmunds make it easy to determine a car’s value based on a number of parameters.
Determining the post-accident value of your car requires some professional expertise. A qualified appraiser can help. Arriving at the fair market value of a damaged and repaired vehicle requires knowledge, a vast database, and perhaps inputs from dealers and other experts.
Making Your Case
A lawyer can help you to file an action to recover the diminished value of your vehicle and some related expenses, but you have to find one who is willing to take on this type of case. Personal injury is separate from property damage and few personal injury lawyers will take a property damage case, even if it’s along with a personal injury case.
With a proper legal filing you can make a recovery for this financial loss. In addition to diminished value, you may be entitled compensation related to the temporary substitute vehicle provided while your car was in for repairs.
Legally, the insurance company for the person at fault for the accident must provide you with a temporary car that is comparable to the damaged vehicle. If the insurer refuses to provide a comparable substitute vehicle, and the trial court finds such failure to be not in good faith, the penalty is the larger of double the rental cost or $500.
A Path to Recovering Your Losses
While diminished value is not as well-known as options to recover for the property damages and personal injuries that may result from an accident, it is something every vehicle owner should understand. Recovering the diminished value of your vehicle helps ensure you are fully compensated for all losses experienced as the result of a car accident when you are not at fault.
If you think you have a case, the next step is to contact a lawyer with experience handling diminished value actions. An attorney can help you understand if you have a cause of action and the potential recovery.
Thyden Gross and Callahan has recovered diminished value for clients in Maryland and Virginia. We will represent you even if there was no personal injury involved.Contact us at 301-968-2391 so we can help you too.
