Who Is Responsible For My Property Damage After An Auto Wreck In Arkansas?

The negligent party responsible for your car accident is responsible for your property damage, but sometimes the investigations strike out. One of the benefits of having collision coverage is you don’t have to wait. You can go ahead and get your car repaired and get the value of the total loss. Then you can continue with your life, and your insurance company will go out to the negligent party to get reimbursed for what they paid you along with your deductible. Many people are afraid to use their insurance coverage, either for property damage or Med-Pay, in their injury claims because they are worried that their rates will go up. This wreck wasn’t their fault, and they shouldn’t have to use their insurance.

If you’ve got it, our advice is to use it because it’s only going to make your claim better. There is a statute in Arkansas that we give our clients that says that the insurance company can’t raise your rates or drop you just by filing a claim if it’s not your fault. You don’t owe unwavering loyalty to your insurance company not to call on them to help you in a situation. But it also doesn’t mean that you don’t still go after the other person. If you were smart and planned ahead, not only do you get help from the insurance company of the person who caused the wreck, you also get service from your insurance company. Our job is to help you guide that labyrinth of all the insurance companies, whether they are yours or associated with the other driver.

Who Will Pay For My Transportation Expenses While My Vehicle Is Being Repaired?

An insurance company will pay you what they believe the jury will make them pay if we go to trial. One of the elements of the claim that the judge will tell the jury if we go to court about property damage says that they’ve got to pay you for the reasonable value to fix or replace your car plus a fair amount for loss of use. A reasonable amount for loss of use usually means a rental car. This rental car must match in size and quality to your wrecked vehicle.

If they don’t put you in a rental car, then that reasonable amount for loss of use means they’ve got to pay you what they would have paid a rental car company. If you had a van, maybe that van goes for $40 a day at Enterprise or any other rental company, meaning they will pay you $40 a day. They don’t get to save money because they took a month to investigate and determine that their insured client is at fault. They’ve got to pay you what they would have paid for a rental car if they had accepted liability on day one. You only get to keep the rental car until they make you a property damage offer, so once they make you that offer, it’s time to turn the rental car back in, or you are going to start incurring those costs on your own. If your vehicle is totaled, they can offer to pay for your car, or if it is not, you get to keep the rental car until yours is out of the shop.

When Do I Need To Take My Property Damage Claim To Court? Is It Separate From My Personal Injury Case?

It is usually simple to determine what a car is worth. You can refer to the Blue Book, NADA, or many other tools and companies that value cars’ worth, and if the insurance company is undervaluing it, it’s pretty black-and-white. We will take it to court for you and get the fair value of your car. If you do go to court, you can sue over your bodily injury claim in the same case. But the reverse isn’t true. If you settle your property damage claim, but you don’t like what they are offering you for your injury claim, then you can still file a lawsuit on your injury claim, even though you’ve settled your property damage claim. Our job as your attorney, if you hire us for your injury claim, then we’ll handle your property damage claim for no additional charge.

We will not take a percentage of your property damage settlement if you hire us for your injury claim. Our role is to guide you through the process. We will help you look at values, get evidence to show what your car is worth, and advise you to help you decide on whether to accept the property damage settlement offer that they make you. We often tell clients that if they are not exactly happy with the property damage offer, give us time to work on your bodily injury side of your claim and see if we can use that to get more money. Once we do that, we seem to be able to wrap up things.

For more information on Property Damage Claim In The State Of Arkansas, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (479) 337-7077 today.