California Car Accident Property Loss: Maximizing your Recovery
Physical injuries are not the only losses that victims may suffer as consequences of a car accident. Property loss - which often includes the damage sustained by a vehicle in an accident - is the next thing that an accident victim has to deal with.
Claims for Car Accident Property Loss
- Loss of use Claim
- Claim for Diminished Value
- Claim for Damages against the Party-at Fault
A person whose car was damaged in a car accident is entitled to recover damages for loss of use of vehicle. This claim includes damages for the loss of the use of car during the duration of repair, if the car is a total loss until it is replaced.
Generally, the loss for the damaged vehicle is often measured as the cost of a rental car, excluding insurance or sales tax, during the period.
In addition, the damages that you can recover is restricted only to the loss of actual use, which means that a victim who did not actually drive the car cannot recover for loss of the opportunity to use the car.
If your car was damaged in an accident, you can also recover damages for its diminished value, which is the market loss or value of a vehicle as a result of an accident. A damaged car is naturally worth less than its original value, which was diminished by losses in the accident. This could affect the value of your vehicle in case you are planning a trade-in or resale.
However in California, there is no first-party claim for diminution of value. This means you cannot collect against your own policy for any loss of value that your vehicle has incurred as a result of an accident. According to the court (Ray v. Farmers Ins. Exchange (1998) 200 Cal. App.3d 1411), once a vehicle is “repaired to its pre-accident safe, mechanical, and cosmetic condition, the first party insurance company’s duty is discharged”.
You may also recover damages against the offending party in an accident, which is equivalent to the difference between the fair market value of your vehicle before the accident and the value after the accident and it has been repaired.
Mitigating your Damages in an Accident
In legal terms, mitigation is the reasonable effort made by the victim (plaintiff) to alleviate or reduce the effects of the injury or breach.
In claiming recovery for damages in most accidents, mitigation is an important factor. If the victim fails to mitigate his damages immediately, the insurance company may use it as an argument and the victim’s recovery may be reduced. Hence it is important to act quickly.
Finding evidence to support your claim could also affect your mitigation efforts. To help you avoid this inconvenience, you need the services of a skilled and experience personal injury lawyer.