What is Property Damage in a Car Accident?
The result of a car accident can be devastating in many ways. Often, these collisions result in serious injuries for everyone involved. These injuries can result in significant claims for compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other losses. However, not every legal claim involves personal injuries. Property damage is another important part of some legal claims that result from a car accident.
Property damage involves damage to the physical items that you own. In most cases, these claims involved damage to your motor vehicle. However, property damage can involve any item you own that is damaged in an accident.
If your personal property suffers damage in an automobile accident, you could be entitled to compensation. A Los Angeles car accident lawyer can assist you in holding the at-fault driver for your vehicle damage after a crash.
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Types Of Property Damage Claims
The most common type of personal property damage claim involves the cost of repairing or replacing your damaged vehicle after an accident. However, you might be surprised at the other types of property damage claims you might be entitled to. Experienced L.A. car accident lawyers can advise you on how best to pursue any of these claims. Examples of common property damage claims include:
- The cost of repairing your vehicle
- The cost of replacing your vehicle
- Expenses related to towing your vehicle from the crash scene
- Damage to items within the vehicle
- Damage to real property
- Rental car expenses after a crash
Often, the at-fault party that caused the crash can be held responsible for your property damage claims. Liability insurance policies typically have separate policy limits for property damage compared to injury claims, which means you could recover your property losses even if you are also pursuing compensation for your injuries.
Handling A Property Damage Claim
In many cases, property damage claims are resolved quickly. While there is often disagreements between the parties on the value of a personal injury claim, the value of property damage is often less contentious. There are objective ways to evaluate a vehicle’s damage, which often leads to quicker settlements than you might expect from a personal injury case.
The flipside of this issue is that insurance policy limits for property damage are typically lower than for personal injury claims. In many cases, the minimum level of coverage for property damage will not cover the full cost to repair or replace a damaged vehicle. This means you must either accept less than the full value of your property damage claim or file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver directly in an effort to recover damages from them.
In many cases, the at-fault driver might lack the resources to personally cover your damages that were above and beyond the limits of the insurance policy. This can leave you in a difficult position. Thankfully, practiced car accident attorneys can assist you in evaluating a claim and advising you on your best chance for recovering the compensation you are entitled to.
An Experienced Car Accident Lawyer at Ellis Injury Law Can Help
Property damage claims often make up a small fraction of the compensation sought in car accident cases. Regardless, recovering the property damage compensation you are entitled to is vital.
At Ellis Injury Law, we understand what is at stake when it comes to your vehicle damage. We have extensive experience pursuing these claims and can advise you on how to move forward with yours. Your best chance at recovering the property damage compensation you deserve starts with aggressive representation. We will actively pursue your case and will not rest until we have resolved it. To learn how we can help you after your crash, schedule a free consultation with Ellis Injury Law right away.