Legal Question in Personal Injury in Indiana

My car was totaled in an accident that was other driver's fault. Her insurance company offered me $2,400 as compensation (based on their software) but I feel that my car is worth more. KBB says $4,700, Edmunds.com - $2,800 and the average listings from AutoTrader.com is about $3,300. Three months aftre the accident I have not recieved anything. My questioons are:

1. How should I proceed, with a lawsuit in a small claims court or there are other forms of arbitrage?

2. Who should I sue, the insurance company or the person who caused the accident?

Thank you,

Dobrin Bossev


Asked on 4/28/10, 9:42 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Larry Jackson Jackson Law Firm, LLC

If you have comprehensive coverage on your own vehicle, you could ask your insurer to place a value on it. If that number is better, you can take that and have your insurer go after the other insurer to get their money back (and get back your deductible).

You can ask the other insurance company if they are willing to have an independent evaluation done where you choose an appraiser, they choose an appraiser and those two apprasiers choose a third appraiser and those three set the value. Down side of this is you have to pay your half of the appraisers' fees, but I have found that this is sometimes worth it.

You can sue the other driver in small claims court. Filing fees vary according to the county you're in but should be around $75. You do sue the driver and not his insurer. Good luck. Property damage claims are a pain in the neck.

If you were hurt in the collision, you may be able to make up for some of the loss you take on the property value when negotiating a settlement of the persoanl injury claim.

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Answered on 5/03/10, 11:54 am


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