Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: I was driving on a four lane road when a pickup truck from the other direction began swerving. This truck was hauling firewood on a small trailer behind it and some of the logs came off and hit my car, flattened my tire, bent my rim, and damaged the underside of my car. The estimate for my repair is over $3000 but I let the guy go without calling the police because I just thought I had a flat tire. I did get his name and insurance information but the insurance company says that he doesn’t have insurance on that truck and they won’t pay without a police report. What can I do?
Stacy
Russellville, AL
A: As you now know, a police report would help you resolve this matter. I hope everyone who reads my column understands that insurance companies are not helpful. Mayhem may be funny and talking geckos are great but insurance companies do not pay claims they do not absolutely have to pay. They dispute every claim they can and when liability is clear they claim that the damages were caused some other way or are less than claimed.
There is no reason why the insurance company will take your word for the fact that your car was damaged by their insured. Without a police report, they will simply dispute your account of the facts unless their insured admits to what happened. They will not make much of an effort for that to happen. They will drag it out and never pay you unless you make them.
I don’t think you will ever be paid voluntarily by the insurance company in this case. A trailer being towed is generally covered by the insurance on the vehicle towing it. If the vehicle was borrowed, insurance will follow the vehicle.
My advice is to get a thorough estimate of the damage by an experienced and licensed repair facility and then file a complaint in small claims court in the county in which the accident happened. Small Claims Court goes up to $3000. District Court goes up to $10,000 and any suit for damages above $10,000 must be filed in Circuit Court.
If the person has insurance, the suit will get the insurance company’s attention and you may get paid or you may have to have your repair person present in court to testify about how much it will cost to repair your vehicle. That is an easy four questions: What do you do? How long have you done it? Did you examine my car? How much will it cost to fix?
Just because an insurance company refuses to accept responsibility in no way means that the judge who listens to the evidence and the parties won’t find in your favor. People are supposed to drive safely and secure their loads properly. Failure to do so is negligence. Remember that the Small Claims system is set up for people to use without the expense of an attorney.
Buckle up and drive safely.
