Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
So a few weeks ago my brother walked the dog down to get something to eat at this pizza place near our house. Dogs arent allowed inside so he tied damaris our dog to a chair thinking that he would stay put. As my brother walked into the restaurant Damaris followed him and the chair fell over and scared the dog. Damaris went running from panick into street draggin the chair behind him with his collar. A girl in a mazda 3 came to a stop when she saw Damaris. The chair and the dog both crashed into her car and made minor dents on the passenger side door. My brother exchanged information with her and failed to take pictures of the damages. A week or so go by and the girls boyfriend calls my brother to discuss how to deal with the situation. They agree that my brother will pay for the damages and that he will send him quotes from two different auto shops. The guy had mentioned that he had a good friend that owns an auto body repair shop and that he would prefer to take the car there. The damages came out to $3,000 which seem ridiculous!!I Its a mazda 3. A few days before this accident the same car had just been released from auto repair from a previous accident. We think that this guy is trying to get more money out of us to try and pay for his previous incident. Should his insurance be able to pay for the damages?.. Also I have heard that HOA will cover accidents involving dogs. What is the proper way to deal with this?. Should we ask to see the car again to take pictures and get our own estimate?...
2 Answers from Attorneys
You should definitely ask to see the vehicle and take pictures of any alleged damage from the accident, looking also for other non-related damage. Review the repair estimate and ask them to get another one. They do not have to report it to their insurance company; if their insurance did pay for it, the insurance company itself would then come after you for reimbursement.. I doubt your insurance will cover it as there is no relationship to where you live, but you can ask them. HOA insurance covers common areas, fire, etc damage, not what occur off the complex grounds.
Your brother's homeowners' or renters' insurance (was that what you meant by "HOA"?) should cover this unusual accident.
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