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Probably not. Most insurance companies are fairly easy to deal with in settling property damage claims. The fee a lawyer might charge you to handle your property damage claim would end up taking up too much of your property damage claim settlement to make it worthwhile.

Yes. A car that’s been in an accident is worth less than the exact same car that has not been in an accident. You’re entitled to recover for the “diminished value” of your car. The amount of “diminished value” you can recover is the difference in fair market value between your car before the collision and your car after the collision.

Here’s an example: Your car is worth $20,000. You get into an accident and your car is fully repaired. Because it’s been in an accident its value is now $19,000. You’re entitled to recover $1,000 in diminished value.

Because most people don’t know you’re entitled to recover for the diminished value of your car, most insurance companies don’t voluntarily offer to pay you for it. Be sure to do so when speaking with the insurance company about the damage to your car.

I’m sorry to hear this. Hopefully your insurance policy has what’s called “gap coverage,” which covers the “gap” between your property damage claim for your totaled car and the amount remaining on your car loan. If not, there’s nothing that you can do. However, you may be able to make up the difference through your personal injury claim.

Here’s an example to explain: You buy a car for $20,000. A year later your car is totaled in an accident. Its fair market value is determined to be $15,000, so the insurance company writes you a $15,000 check for the property damage. After using that $15,000 to pay off your car loan, you still owe $2,000 on your car loan. If you have “gap coverage,” you can use it to pay that $2,000.

Clients who have been hurt in accidents often ask us if they have a case even though they were partially at fault for their accident. Georgia’s comparative negligence law allows a person to recover for their injuries even if they were negligent as long as the jury decides they were less than 50% at fault for the accident.

Georgia law OCGA 51-12-33(a) states that where a person is injured in an accident but was partially at fault, the jury decides the percentage of the plaintiff’s fault for the accident. The judge then reduces the jury award to the plaintiff by the finding of fault. For example, if the jury returns a $500,000 verdict but finds the plaintiff 25% at fault, the jury verdict is reduced 25%, to $375,000.

Georgia law OCGA 51-12-33(g) states that if the jury finds the injured person 50% at fault or greater, they cannot recover. For example, if the jury returns a $250,000 verdict but finds the injured person and the defendant were each 50% responsible, the injured person cannot recover anything. However, if the jury returns a $250,000 verdict but finds the defendant 51% at fault and the injured person 49% at fault, the injured person can recover but the verdict is reduced 49%, to $127,500.

It is an unfair and harsh result that an injured person that’s 49% at fault can recover for their injuries while an injured person who is 50% at fault cannot.

Where there are multiple people responsible for an accident, Georgia law OCGA 51-12-33(b) requires that the jury decides the percentage of each person’s fault and that the jury verdict is apportioned among each person by the percentage of their fault.

Here are a couple of examples that show how this works:

The jury returns a $300,000 verdict and finds the plaintiff 20% at fault, defendant X 40% at fault and defendant Y 40% at fault. The jury verdict is reduced 20%, to $240,000, to reflect the plaintiff’s fault. Defendant X is responsible for 40% of the verdict, which is $120,000. Defendant Y is also responsible for 40% of the verdict, which is $120,000.

The jury returns a $500,000 verdict and finds the plaintiff 30% at fault, defendant X 50% at fault and defendant Y 20% at fault.The jury verdict is reduced 30%, to $350,000, to reflect the plaintiff’s fault. Defendant X is responsible for 50% of the verdict, which is $250,000. Defendant Y is responsible for 20% of the verdict, which is $100,000.

The insurance company of the “at-fault” driver should pay for you to rent a replacement car while your car is being repaired. The insurance company will only pay for what it considers a reasonable replacement. For instance, the insurance company won’t pay for you to rent a Ferrari (unless you were driving a Ferrari, that is!).

If the other driver doesn’t have insurance or you choose to submit your property damage claim to your own insurance company, your insurance company may pay for you to rent a replacement car if your insurance policy provides that sort of coverage.

If your car was totaled, you are entitled to the fair market value of your vehicle. This means that you are entitled to what a car dealership or another person would buy and sell that same car for. A good way to determine the fair market value of your vehicle is to look at Kelley Blue Book or what similar cars sell for in your area or online.

If your car just needs repairs, you are entitled to the reasonable cost of those repairs. If the cost of the repairs is greater than the fair market value of your car, the insurance company will consider your car “totaled” and pay you the fair market value of your car. For instance, if you have a car with a fair market value of $10,000 and the accident caused it to need $12,000 in repairs, the insurance company will pay you the $10,000 fair market value of your car.

Say you get into a car wreck with another driver that doesn’t have insurance. Your car is totaled and you are injured. Your insurance policy has uninsured motorist coverage and you make a claim. An adjuster calls and wants to take a statement from you. Should you do so? Yes.

Under your insurance policy, you have a duty to cooperate with your insurance company as they investigate your claim. If you do not agree to give them a statement, they could claim you are not cooperating and refuse to settle your claim.

However, you are allowed to have your attorney present during your statement. We meet with our clients to prepare them to give recorded statements and walk them through what sort of questions the insurance adjuster will be asking.

Please realize that when you are making a claim with your own insurance company, your insurance company isn’t necessarily looking out for your best interests. Their interest is now settling your claim for as little as possible. This is why it is important to meet with your attorney to prepare for your recorded statement and have your attorney present during it.

If the other driver was at fault, his or her insurance company should pay for it. You can also submit the property damage claim through your insurance company and then let your insurance company recover from the “at-fault” driver’s insurance company.

If the other driver doesn’t have insurance, your insurance company should pay for the damage to your car, assuming your insurance policy has collision coverage.

My firm represents clients on a contingency fee basis. This means that I do not charge a fee for initial consultation, do not charge an upfront fee to take your case or bill you by the hour. My fee is a percentage of the settlement or verdict at trial. In short, the only way we get paid is if we win or settle your case. If I don’t recover anything for you, you don’t owe us anything.

Many TV lawyers will charge you a 40% fee if they are able to settle your case without filing a lawsuit pre-suit and a 45% fee if they file a lawsuit. While these fees are appropriate in very difficult and complex cases like product liability, medical malpractice and legal malpractice cases, that is simply too much for most injury cases.

My firm handles attorney’s fees differently.

If we are able to settle your case without having to file a lawsuit, our fee is 33%. With a pre-suit settlement, we believe this more accurately reflects the work we’ve put into your case. If we file a lawsuit in your case, the fee is 40%. The fee goes up if suit is filed because lawsuits require much more work, are more expensive, take longer to settle or get to trial and involve more risk than settling your case without filing a lawsuit.

Our firm also advances the expenses associated with your case, such as the cost to file the lawsuit and have the defendant served with it, the cost of getting your medical records, court reporter and deposition fees and fees your doctors may charge for consultations and testimony. Our firm is repaid for these expenses out of any settlement or win at trial.

The term “property damage” refers to personal property such as a car, truck or motorcycle. If your car is damaged or totaled in an accident, you have a claim for the damage against the driver who caused the wreck.