Under North Carolina law you can recover for the loss of value to your vehicle after a North Carolina Auto Accident. This is true even if your car has been fully and completely prepared. People inside the insurance industry call this type of a claim a DOVclaim, which stands for Diminution of Value or Diminishment of Value.
You may be wondering why you would be paid money if your car has already been fully repaired. The answer is that you are being paid because your car has a blemish on its history (e.g., your accident will show up on a carfax report) that had caused the fair market value of your car to drop (e.g., people will pay more for a comparable car with no accident history).
Oftentimes the amount of your North Carolina diminution of value claim or North Carolina diminishment of value claim is quite minimal, especially if you own a vehicle that is very old or has been in several accidents. However, if you have a newer vehicle that has never been involved in a North Carolina car accident, the amount of your North Carolina diminution of value claim or North Carolina diminishment of value claim can be in the thousands. If you would like a free evaluation on the value of your claim, contact our Durham Injury Lawyers or Greensboro Injury Lawyers.
If you had a choice between two identical cars, and one car that had been in a North Carolina auto accident and one car that had never been in a North Carolina car crash, how much of a discount would you have to receive in order to be induced into buying the car with the damage history? 5%, 10%, 15%, etc. The answer will vary depending on the type of damage, the type of car, your etc., but everybody would pay less for the car that had been in the North Carolina auto wreck. To setup a free consultation to discuss the merits of your case, you can contact a Durham Injury Attorney or Greensboro Injury Attorney.
In valuing a North Carolina diminution of value claim or North Carolina diminishment of value claim, many factors are considered, including:
– the location and severity of the damage to the automobile;
– the cost of the repairs to the vehicle;
– the age and condition of the car;
– the prior accident history of the automobile; and
– whether the car is a collector’s item or a limited or special edition.
If your car has been involved in a North Carolina auto accident, you need to be sure to properly document your North Carolina diminished value claim or North Carolina diminution of value claim. To do this be sure to obtain the following information to give to your Durham Accident Attorney or Greensboro Accident Attorney:
– photos of the damage on the car;
– a copy of the final repair estimate of the damages;
– pictures of the repaired vehicle (after repairs are finished);
– Trade-in quotes from local dealerships (this is optional); and
– Automobile appraisal (this is optional).
A couple important aspects of North Carolina Diminishment of Value Claims and North Carolina Diminution of Value Claims:
– You can not generally make a claim if you are at fault for the accident (e.g., your own insurance company will not pay you for the diminished value that you caused — you can only make the claim if someone else caused your accident).
– The insurance company that you are dealing with will almost never notify you of your North Carolina Diminution of Value Claim or North Carolina Diminishment of Value Claim (or your loss of use claim); if you want to make a claim you will have to specifically request so to the North Carolina claims adjuster.
Kreger Thacker LLP’s Durham Personal Injury Attorneys and Greensboro Personal Injury Attorneys handle North Carolina Diminution of Value Claims and North Carolina Diminishment of Value Claims for clients on every North Carolina accident case we handle. Other than the cost of a North Carolina auto appraiser, there is typically zero cost to you in bringing the claim.