Legal Question in Personal Injury in Virginia
My son was recently rearended after leaving school. the other person took responsibility for accident.our bike($1000.) and bikerack($100.) were damaged.i paid $436 lost. to repair bike so my son could ride in a race 2 days after accident.now his insurance says they are going to repay based on depreciation. i have receipt clearly showing what i paid and what was repaired.the bike was 3 months old at time so i ffel there should be no depreciation- also bikerack is no more than a yr old but i cant find receipt to prove it.it was in as new condition.it should not cost me anything to get back to where we started but they are firm in their position.should i take them to small claims court for full reimbursement and if so who(his insurance or him) also could i ask for filing fee for court and lost wages for taking off to do this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, you could sue in small claims court (up to $5000) the person
(not his insurer) who caused this accident and seek recovery for
the fair market value of the bike at the time of the accident + court
costs. (However, lost wages for having to go to court are not recoverable.)