Final Request for advice - THANK YOU

[GrampaPete]

What is the name of your state? Wisconsin

REHASH: I t-boned a van that did an illegal U-turn from the shoulder of a county road in Sep 2006. The other driver was cited for illegal left turn. My car was totalled, my dog was killed, but I fortunately walked away with bruised ribs.

My medical bills (emergency room and psychiatry) of $1500 were paid by my company, as was the cost of the car. The other company, Allstate, requested arbitration on the claim and the other driver was found to be 90% at fault by the arb board.

Although I had no physical injury, I had lots of nightmares and anxiety and was diagnosed and treated for PTSD and later depression by the VA (I have a prior history of anxiety disorders). At the time of the accident I was doing well and was medication free.
I thus missed three weeks of volunteer work.

I would like to collect on these damages:

• $1800 - dog burial and replacement
• $2200 - modifications to my auto not covered by insurance (wheels, stereo, engine mods)
• $600 - lost wages
• ??? - pain and suffering

Allstate (the other driver's insurance) has not contacted me and my email to them went unanswered.

I would like to close this chapter out, and my thought is to file a small claims action for $5,000. Before doing that I would appreciate you feedback.

Thanks,

Peter

 

[ecmst12]

How are you asking for lost wages for VOLUNTEER work???

You need to find out if your insurance company is being reimbursed for the money they put out for you by Allstate directly. They get paid first.

 

[GrampaPete]

Lost Wages

I receive a small salary of $2.65/hr plus mileage. I have a letter from the supervisor.

Good question!

Peter

 

[GrampaPete]

My insurer has been paid by Allstate

All that is completed...now I am just wanting to collect my losses which were not covered.

Peter

 

[FlyingRon]

I receive a small salary of $2.65/hr plus mileage. I have a letter from the supervisor.

Good question!

Peter

You won't be compensated for expenses you didn't incur (mileage) and $2.65/hour would be 255 hours. That would be 12 hours a day straight, 7 days a week for three hours. Really?

 

[GrampaPete]

Gosh, sorry for offending you

The lost wage amount includes the mileage...that is how it got so high.

Why are you nitpicking at this...what about the big picture?

I am not trying to screw anybody. Quite the opposite has occured. I was totally innocent here, lost my pal, and the other party and her insurance company have been jerks. This is my first accident in 46 years of driving.

Peter

 

[teflon_jones]

First of all, do not email the company or call them. As you've already found out, email does nothing. All correspondence must be done via Certified Return Receipt mail if you want to get anywhere.

You're going to have a hard time collecting on the mods to your car that weren't listed on your insurance policy. You should list them out and provide pictures and receipts for the items and send that to the other insurance company.

As for the cost of burial and replacement for your dog, you need to break that down. It's highly unlikely they're going to cover burial costs of any kind. And they definitely won't cover replacement of the animal. An animal is considered a piece of property so the best you could do (though I doubt you'll get anything) would be to prorate what the dog was worth by factoring in the purchase price versus the age of the animal.

As for the lost wages, you need to provide documentation of that to the other company. You won't get anything for mileage because that's an expense, not part of your wages. If I take 600/2.65 that gives me 226 hours. Are you trying to say that you missed almost 6 weeks or work due to your slight injuries?

As for P&S, you're unlikely to get much, but ask for it in writing and see what they offer you.

 

[FlyingRon]

The lost wage amount includes the mileage...that is how it got so high.

Why are you nitpicking at this...what about the big picture?

I'm not nitpicking, the big picture is you have an inflated idea of the actual damages. You can't deduct things like mileable reimbursement for mileage you didn't end up driving. As others have pointed out there is a different between the price you'd go out to pay for something and the depreciated value. Burial expenses is *NOT* something they'll cover. Legal disposal of the carcass is about right.

Write a paper letter with a serious legimate request for reimbursement and send it to them. If nothing happens and you are within the limits for small claims court, that's your best option (you sue the other driver not the insurance company by the way).