Many times vehicles are worth less after a car accident. Think about it. If your vehicle was in a car accident and sustained a significant amount of damage, people will be less likely to want to purchase your car. If they do purchase your car, they probably will want a discount since the car has been in a car accident and sustained serious damage.
In order to get compensated for the loss of value to your vehicle, there are several things that an experienced vehicle accident attorney can do to help according to our legal system. The first is to avoid the whole loss of value of your vehicle by showing the insurance company that your vehicle is a total loss. By showing that your vehicle is a total loss, the insurance company is required to compensate you for the fair market value of your vehicle. If your car is not damaged enough to allow even the best personal injury lawyers you can find to show that the damaged car is a total loss, then an expert can be hired to show the “diminished value” of your vehicle. An expert can look at the amount of damage compared to the type, make, value of your vehicle and determine what amount of money the car’s value will be decreased by since it has been in a car accident. Lastly, if you decide to sell your vehicle, we can show the insurance company the difference in the fair market value of your vehicle compared to the selling price that was obtained for your vehicle.
Proving the loss of diminished value of a vehicle is not an exact science. The diminished value of a vehicle is a real loss; however, if a vehicle has sustained significant damage because of a car accident, a diminished loss of value claim for your vehicle should be presented to the insurance company. Some states do not allow diminished property value claims. Arizona does allow this claim, but the fact that it is not universally allowed means many times someone will need to find a skilled auto accident lawyer to get the insurance company to pay for the lost or diminished value of the car after it has been fixed.