DIMINISHED VALUE CLAIM
This article will discuss getting your car repaired after an accident where the other party is at fault.
If the other party is at fault you are entitled to recover all of your damages. This includes recovery for the damages to your car (“property damages”), and if you were injured, damages due to your personal injuries. This article will discuss one aspect of getting a recovery for the damages to your car. The at-fault party (We will call “D”) is responsible for restoring your car to its pre-accident condition and value. One part of this is to get the mechanical and auto body repaired. There is a well-established procedure for this. The insurance company will inspect the damages, assess the repair costs, and authorize the work at the auto repair shop. But there is another aspect to restoring the value of the car. Assume the value of your car, pre-accident was $15,000, and the repair costs are $5,000. After repairs have been paid for, there is now a record in various databases such as Carfax and AutoCheck, about the accident and type of damages, that is available to the public. A car that has been involved in a serious accident, even after repairs have been made is worth less than a similar vehicle that has not been involved in an auto accident. This difference is called diminished value and is a part of the property damage you have sustained, that the at-fault party is responsible to pay you. Looking at the above example, your car pre-accident was worth $15,000. The repair costs were $5,000, and because of the accident, your car is now worth $12,000. That $3,000 difference is now part of your damages for which “D” is also responsible.
You can make a claim for diminished value, only if you were not at fault, and the accident was caused by D. If “D” had liability insurance, you can make a claim for diminished value against D’s insurance carrier. This is not automatic. You must make a specific claim in writing. The time limit for this is two years from the accident. Most likely there will be haggling over the amount of the claim. There are various auto appraisal services that specialize in determining the diminished value to your car, for a fee. In the event that D did not have liability insurance, if you have uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage on your own auto policy, you can make such a claim against your own carrier.
You should always consider making a diminished value claim if your car has sustained major damage and has not been totaled out. Due to depreciation, the value of a diminished value claim on an older car may be small. However such a claim on a late model high end car can be substantial.
In the event you have been involved in an auto accident where the other party was at fault, contact the Law Office of Elliott Klein, PLLC for a full evaluation of all of your damages, both property and personal.