Wrecked Car? Here's How to Get Fair Compensation After an Accident

How you react after a car accident determines whether you receive compensation to recover from financial losses. Calling 911, which activates the emergency response system, is the first item on your to-do list. After the responding team of medical and law enforcement personnel arrives at the scene of the vehicle collision, you should seek medical care at the nearest hospital. Medical care consists of undergoing a series of diagnostic tests followed by completing a comprehensive treatment program. After contacting a personal injury attorney and the appropriate insurance company, you have to answer one important question.

How much can I get for my wrecked car?

Your personal injury attorney should provide you with the name and contact information of an auto repair shop where you can receive a fair evaluation of the condition of your motor vehicle. The independent evaluation conducted by an auto repair shop might come up with a different value for your car than the value calculated by the insurance company processing your claim. If you do not hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to help you receive just compensation, the insurance company processing your claim might calculate a value for your wrecked car that is much lower than the value calculated by the auto repair shop where you first took your motor vehicle.

Insurance companies deny claims for many reasons, some of which are not valid reasons. One of the most common invalid reasons for denying an auto insurance claim is to decide that the value of a policyholder’s vehicle is worth less than the value of the damage calculated for the wrecked car. Hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer with a strong insurance background should prevent your insurance company from taking advantage of you. An experienced attorney also reviews your case to determine whether the other party involved in the auto crash committed one or more acts of negligence. If your lawyer can prove the other party committed one or more acts of negligence, then you might have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

Since 1988, Morgan and Morgan has represented clients in car accident cases. We have recovered more than $20 billion in compensation since we opened our first office, with the money coming from favorable legal judgments and negotiated settlements. The experienced personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve, including getting top dollar for wrecked vehicles.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with an attorney from Morgan and Morgan to determine the answer to the question, ”How much can I get for my wrecked car?”

What Happens When My Car Is Wrecked?

If you wrecked your car, you should file an insurance claim according to the right type of coverage to receive compensation for the car’s value. You have to include your annual deductible in the formula used to calculate the value of the wrecked motor vehicle. The type of coverage used to receive compensation depends on the type of accident. For example, you use collision coverage for an accident that is your fault, while you use the at-fault driver’s insurance coverage for an accident that is not your fault. Any damage not caused by a collision, such as vandalism and weather-related issues, falls under comprehensive insurance coverage.

Other types of insurance include gap and new car replacement. Gap insurance covers the remaining balance owed on a leased or financed motor vehicle. New car replacement insurance replaces a totaled car with a new vehicle that is comparable in value.

How Much Can I Get for My Wrecked Vehicle?

Whether your insurance company assesses the value of your wrecked car or an auto repair shop performs an independent analysis, several factors come into play to calculate your car’s actual cash value (ACV). Factors to consider include the car make and model, as well as year, mileage, and accident history. Depreciation also plays an influential role in determining the value of a wrecked vehicle. Most makes and models lose about 60 percent of their value by the end of the 5th year of operation. Calculating a value for a wrecked vehicle also includes wear and tear, as well as the local demand for a similar car.

What Should I Do if I Wreck My Car?

After law enforcement personnel have left the scene of the accident and you have received medical care, the time has come to take your vehicle in for a thorough inspection. Take your car into the auto repair shop you have used in the past to conduct an independent evaluation of the damage done to your car. You should receive an objective calculation that you can refer to if the insurance company processing your claim submits a lowball offer for compensation. Eventually, you have to take your vehicle to an insurance company-approved body shop for an evaluation, but make sure to get your car evaluated first by a trusted team of auto mechanics.

With the help of an experienced attorney from Morgan and Morgan, file an insurance claim as soon as possible after a car accident. Claims for wrecked vehicles typically take longer to process because of the disputes that arise over car value. You must provide the insurance company processing your claim with the vehicle’s title and the sales receipt for you to receive compensation for the value of your car.

How Does a Morgan and Morgan Attorney Help Me Receive Compensation for a Wrecked Car?

Working with a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling wrecked car cases improves your chances of getting an insurance claim approved. You also might be able to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.

The attorney that you hire from Morgan and Morgan provides the following types of legal support.

Conduct a Detailed Investigation: A detailed investigation starts with your attorney reviewing the official police report, which contains information concerning the cause of the motor vehicle accident. After establishing the case of the auto crash, your lawyer then determines whether the other party committed one or more acts of negligence. This involves gathering additional physical evidence, such as the footage captured by a traffic and/or security camera. Other types of physical evidence to review include photographs of the damage inflicted on your motor vehicle.

Your attorney also interviews witnesses to provide support for your version of what transpired before, during, and after the vehicle collision.

Calculate a Value for Compensation: If you walked away from a car accident with just damage done to your car, then consider yourself fortunate. However, if you sustained one or more injuries, then you are entitled to request compensation to cover all medical expenses. The cost of diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions can run into tens of thousands of dollars. To make financial matters worse, you might not be able to work, which puts you in a much deeper financial hole. Your attorney is responsible for getting you the compensation you deserve, which also includes the costs associated with pain and suffering.

Negotiate a Settlement: Since your insurance company might submit a lowball offer on your wrecked vehicle, you have the option to file an appeal to seek just compensation. Before you participate in the appeals process, your lawyer should first try to negotiate a settlement. Negotiations start when your attorney submits an offer based on the calculation for the value of the wrecked car conducted by the independent auto repair shop. The other party can accept or reject your initial offer and if the initial offer is rejected, the other party can submit a counteroffer to continue negotiations. Several rounds of counteroffers can follow until you reach an agreement or both sides decide to take the claim to the appeals process.

Prove the Four Elements of Negligence: Hiring a personal injury attorney from Morgan and Morgan who has extensive litigation experience is especially important for a wrecked car insurance claim. If the insurance company refuses to compensate you with a fair offer, your attorney has the option to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Before filing a personal injury lawsuit, your attorney must demonstrate the presence of the four elements of negligence.

First, you must show the other party owed you a duty of care not to cause you harm. Second, your attorney must prove the other party committed an act that caused the vehicle collision. For instance, your lawyer might present considerable physical evidence that proves the other driver failed to signal before making a left turn. Third, you must show the court that the car accident produced your injuries. A common tactic implemented by defendant attorneys involves claiming a plaintiff sustained injuries as the result of another incident. Finally, you must show the injuries sustained generated financial losses.

File a Civil Lawsuit Before the Deadline: You have a limited amount of time to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, with most states establishing a deadline between two and four years. The clock starts ticking on the deadline to take legal action on the date of the car accident, although you might receive an extension if you sustained one or more injuries that developed delayed symptoms. Despite having plenty of time to meet the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, you should take legal action long before the expiration of the statute of limitations for two important reasons.

First, your attorney needs to interview witnesses right after a car accident to obtain the most accurate version of events. Second, unless you agree to have your healthcare providers place medical liens on your compensation, you are responsible for paying medical bills as they come due. Filing a personal injury lawsuit as quickly as possible after an accident that wrecked your car helps you receive compensation much faster than if you wait to take legal action close to the date of the filing deadline.

Get What You Deserve for the Value of Your Wrecked Car

With offices located across the United States, Morgan and Morgan represents clients that wrecked their vehicles and need legal support to receive just compensation. Our experience has allowed the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan to develop positive professional relationships with insurance adjusters working in every state. Developing positive professional relationships with insurance adjusters helps our clients receive fair offers for the value of wrecked motor vehicles.

Schedule a free case evaluation with an attorney from Morgan and Morgan to determine the answer to the question, “How much can I get for my wrecked car?”