What I’m I entitled to after a car wreck?
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What I’m I entitled to after a car wreck?
My car was hit by a another person in a parking lot when I was not even in it. The
person did stay and admit to hitting it and a police report was filed. The
insurance is fixing my car but I wanted to know if I could get depreciation on the
car and also payment for my time, such as having to take time off work to take
car to body shop, get a rental, pick car back up and phone calls to insurance
company? I live in South Carolina.
Asked on September 21, 2019 under Accident Law, South Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
1) The law does not provide compensation for the time lost or inconvenience after an accident: this is a "cost" everyone must bear themselves.
2) The insurer will not pay for extra depreciation or loss of value. Their contractual obligation (an insurance policy is a contract) is to pay to fix your car. You could potentially sue the other driver for the depreciation, but would have to prove the depreciation in court, which means bringing in an "expert witness" (e.g. a car appraiser; a veteran car sales person) to testify in court about it (under the rules of evidence, you can't offer a written report or document without a live, knowledgeable person to testify), and you'd almost certainly have to pay that person for his/her time; therefore it may not be worth doing.
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