Property Damage from Auto Accidents.

If you take pride in your car, as most people in San Diego do, you want to make sure it’s protected. But what happens if it is damaged in an automobile accident? If your car is damaged in an auto accident that wasn’t your fault, you’d want the person who caused it, or more accurately their insurance company, to pay for the necessary repairs to restore your car to its pre-accident condition.

To put it simply, a property damage claim is the formal reimbursement request for any damage to your car from an accident. Property damages are not, however, merely confined to the cost of fixing your car. In San Diego and throughout California, you can also receive compensation for a rental car so that you can get around while your car is in the repair shop.

There are laws that protect your property, and an experienced auto accident lawyer can instruct you on what you’re entitled to recover. In fact, our personal injury law offices in San Diego specialize in handling property damage claims that were caused as a result of a car accident.

How Do I Make A Property Damage Claim?

When you make a property damage claim in a car accident case, you have to present it to one of three different parties: (1) the insurance company of the person responsible for the automobile accident, (2) your own insurance company (if you carry collision coverage) or (3) the person responsible for the accident (not their insurance company).

If you are dealing with an insurance company, they might offer to repair your car or pay money for the car’s value depends on a few different factors:

If your car can be repaired, you can have it repaired or be compensated for the value those repairs would have cost.
If your car can be repaired, but the costs are more than what the car is worth, the car is then deemed a “total loss” in which case you are entitled to the fair market value of your car.
If a large amount of damage is inflicted on the car, you also are entitled to recover the fair market value of the vehicle and can decline to have it fixed.

Either way, you have options so that you will not get stuck with the bill for repair work after a car accident that you didn’t cause.

Why Hire Our Car Accident Attorneys?

Since 1992, the experienced auto accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC in San Diego have been helping people just like you recover money for property damage after a car accident. During this time you may also have other questions regarding you case, such as:

My car is damaged how will I get to work?
How will I recover my lost wages or get help paying my medical bills?
How much can I receive for my pain and suffering?

Our experienced car accident attorneys in San Diego can help answer these questions and more. Our firm’s founder, Michael Pines, is a former insurance company lawyer, so he knows how the insurance companies work. You shouldn’t have to worry about fighting insurance companies or even recovering what you lost. That’s what we’re here for: To help you recover the maximum personal injury settlement with the least amount of stress.

If you or a loved one has to file a property damage claim caused by a car accident, we urge you to contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible following the accident at 1-800-655-6585 or please click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney in San Diego. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you do not pay anything until we recover money on your behalf.

Most Recent Blog Post

[caption id="attachment_21715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: The San Diego Union Tribune"][/caption] Last week, we reported on a car accident in San Diego that resulted out of alleged teen street racing. In new developments, the 18-year-old driver charged with the death of the two teenagers involved in the street racing has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter among four other charges according to reports at the San Diego Union Tribune. The news follows the earlier arrest of another 16-year-old driver that was taken into custody on similar charges. Just shortly after his arraignment, Michael Johnson, the 18-year-old driver of a Volvo S40, said, according to his attorney, that he is not the responsible party in the tragic San Diego accident fatalities that occurred April 4. Accident reports indicate that Johnson was returning from a spring break beach party in La Jolla when he was allegedly involved in a street racing contest with another teen driver – the unidentified 16-year-old driver of a Volkswagen Passat whose name has not been released since he is a minor. According to Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler, the two vehicles were zigzagging across lanes at speeds reaching up to a staggering 100 m.p.h. The 16-year-old driver in the Passat lost control over the vehicle, causing the car to flip over several times across multiple lanes of the road. Two passengers, Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jayli Campbell, 16, were thrown from the Passat and died at the scene of the accident. Two passengers survived the crash. Charlotte McQuillen, survived the accident although she suffered serious injury as a result of the collision including reports that say the teen will have to recover from traumatic brain injury. Anthoney Taylor, 16, also survived the crash although his injuries are unclear at this time. Johnson did not flee the scene of the accident according to police reports and cooperated with authorities once officers assessed the scene of the collision. The teen has no prior criminal record, although authorities say his vehicle was found containing a small amount of marijuana. Johnson is being charged with intoxicated driving, although his lawyer says there were no field sobriety tests to confirm the teen’s alleged intoxication. Teen driving: reminders for concerned parents Last week, we blogged on actions parents can take to prevent teen car accidents. Tips include:

Sign a parent-teen contract. Download your free contract now.
Enforcing the rules. Every teen driver needs to know that rules are there for a purpose, and when they are broken, consequences will follow.
Have a DUI backup plan. As most parents can attest, there are many instances when teen drivers run into problems that supersede their know-how and maturity. Drinking is one of those problems. In cases of emergency, your teen should have an open-door policy where they feel safe to call you when they need help – such in the case of drunk driving or driving while intoxicated.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC The Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC are specialists in car accident injury. Every personal injury attorney in our San Diego office works hard to seek maximum recovery for every injured client. Your case is handled without any out-of-pocket costs, so do not hesitate to speak to a San Diego personal injury lawyer today for a free legal evaluation. Call us at 1-800-655-6585.