Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

The law does not require you to rent a trailer if all you are claiming is the value of the trailer and not the work that could have been done if you had a trailer [you are required to attempt to mitigate damages so if you hauled fruit everyday you could not ;just wait for the trailer to be fixed and also charge for the fruits you could not sell, but could have if you had rented a replacement trailer]. Some adjusters have a hard time understanding this concept.

Call up some companies that do rent similar vehicles and find out how much they would charge so that you can determine if $40 if a fair rental basis. Is there anything special about your truck that the other trucks woud not have? Does the $40 include taxes, insurance similar to what you have on your truck, mileage charge if applicable? Ask her to state clearly what period of time she feels is reasonable for the lose of usage. Point out to her why she is wrong as to the time period and demand 40 days times what you think is a reasonable total daily charge. Point out to her that if you do not get that amount you will sue in Small Claims Court, where the judge will be biased against any insurance company and upset that for so little money his time is being used up. Thier insured wil be very upset that he/she has to appear in court so the insurance carrier can try to save a few hundred dollars. Just as you do not have to have damage from the accident repaired, you do not need to get a rental vehicle.