What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
Our car was legally parked and unattended. A 95 year old man lost control of his car and broadsided our car driving into the car parked next to it. The investigating officer figures the driver was going 30-35 mph at impact. Fortunately my wife and her friend were in the restaurant at the time. If they had been getting into the car, they would have been killed instantly.
Miraculously, the driver wasn't hurt. His airbag deployed and he was wearing his seatbelt. The investigating officer did not give him a sobreity test and drove him home. It is a very small town and the driver is a prominent member of the community. He lives with his daughter who is a well know doctor.
The driver's insurance company authorized my claim in less than 24 hours. They are going after Toyota saying the driver's accelerator stuck. The driven vehicle was a 96 Toyota Avalon which has not been remotely connected to the current Toyota acceleration issue. The insurance agent could hardly keep a straight face when she told me they were going after Toyota.
I expect my car is totaled. I also expect the insurance offer will be considerably less than the value of the car. I say that because my car is 11 years. I bought it as a Christmas present for my wife in 1998. I am retired and my favorite hobby is car maintenance/repair. I kept the car in perfect mechanical condition so my wife would never be stranded, often replacing good parts just to increase reliability. I also did a professional detailing 2x per year. The detailing processs took 2 days and, at 11 years old, the car's paint looked like it just came out of the showroom.
Here are my questions:
1. Is the insurance company offer negotiable or will it be a fixed number based simply on the type of vehicle, its age and mileage? Will I get any credit for its superior condition?
2. Does the driver have any liability beyond what his insurance company has? Ie, if I can show that my car is worth $15k and the insurance company only offers me $10k, can I go after the driver for the $5k difference?
3. My wife was not injured but she is VERY upset thinking about how close she and her friend came to getting killed and also about losing a car that I gave her for Christmas and worked so hard to keep nice for her. Can I sue for pain and suffering? I'm not inclined to do that but I want to know if that is an option.
Thank-you.
Our car was legally parked and unattended. A 95 year old man lost control of his car and broadsided our car driving into the car parked next to it. The investigating officer figures the driver was going 30-35 mph at impact. Fortunately my wife and her friend were in the restaurant at the time. If they had been getting into the car, they would have been killed instantly.
Miraculously, the driver wasn't hurt. His airbag deployed and he was wearing his seatbelt. The investigating officer did not give him a sobreity test and drove him home. It is a very small town and the driver is a prominent member of the community. He lives with his daughter who is a well know doctor.
The driver's insurance company authorized my claim in less than 24 hours. They are going after Toyota saying the driver's accelerator stuck. The driven vehicle was a 96 Toyota Avalon which has not been remotely connected to the current Toyota acceleration issue. The insurance agent could hardly keep a straight face when she told me they were going after Toyota.
I expect my car is totaled. I also expect the insurance offer will be considerably less than the value of the car. I say that because my car is 11 years. I bought it as a Christmas present for my wife in 1998. I am retired and my favorite hobby is car maintenance/repair. I kept the car in perfect mechanical condition so my wife would never be stranded, often replacing good parts just to increase reliability. I also did a professional detailing 2x per year. The detailing processs took 2 days and, at 11 years old, the car's paint looked like it just came out of the showroom.
Here are my questions:
1. Is the insurance company offer negotiable or will it be a fixed number based simply on the type of vehicle, its age and mileage? Will I get any credit for its superior condition?
2. Does the driver have any liability beyond what his insurance company has? Ie, if I can show that my car is worth $15k and the insurance company only offers me $10k, can I go after the driver for the $5k difference?
3. My wife was not injured but she is VERY upset thinking about how close she and her friend came to getting killed and also about losing a car that I gave her for Christmas and worked so hard to keep nice for her. Can I sue for pain and suffering? I'm not inclined to do that but I want to know if that is an option.
Thank-you.
