What Happens After a Car Accident: Adjusting Property Damage Claims
Did you know that 5,250,837 accidents resulting in 35,000 fatalities occur in the United States every year? Hello, I’m Ziad Youssef, the principal, and founder of Bellingham Injury Law, PLLC. For nearly 20 years, I have been helping drive justice home for victims of auto accidents. Each client I’ve represented has had their own journey and unique story, but they all share one thing in common: They want just compensation for the life-changing experience that comes from being involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. In my blog, and on my “Monday Morning Legal Minute Podcast”, I discuss the unique lessons I’ve learned in nearly 20 years of representing victims of serious auto accidents.
Car accidents are an unfortunate risk that every driver faces when they’re on the road. While there is a process and time limits (I’m going to hyperlink this to the Process & Time Limits blog post) when dealing with the aftermath of an auto accident in Washington State, today, I’m going to talk about what to do when you wreck your car and want to fight for compensation due to the damage done to your vehicle.
Typically, lawyers don’t like getting involved in helping you adjust your property damage. Then there’s your insurance company. If the insurance company is not giving you what you deserve for your car, then the best thing you can do is to go and get 3 estimates from 3 different repair shops, or 3 different car dealerships, so if they’re going to repair it make sure you get 3 different estimates so that you’re getting the best value for the repairs.
If the insurance company reviews the repair estimates they decide that the repairs are so big that it’s no longer worth repairing the car, they’ll total the car and offer you an amount that should be what the car would be worth if it were sold before the accident. The problem is, a lot of times, they won’t offer you what your car would be worth before the accident and, in fact, usually come in quite a bit lower.
Here’s the best thing you can do in a situation in which the insurance company would rather total your car: Get yourself 3 estimates of what the car would be worth before the accident from 3 different independent car dealers and send those to the insurance company so you can fight for what you deserve on your own.
Call us now at (360) 255-5046 to schedule your free consultation.
