Helping Colorado’s accident
victims for over 25 years.

eNewsletter: June 2016

POSTED BY
May 27, 2016
Newsletter

ExplorerWreckedWhat Happens When Your Car Gets Smacked but Not Totaled?

When you are in a car accident, your first thought is safety. Was anyone hurt? After that moment, when hopefully you learn that everyone is fine, your next thought is, “My car!”

We often help our clients wade through the confusing waters of car repair after an accident and there’s one little-known fact that can help them save more money than they expected. The confusing legal term for it is, “diminution of value claim.”

Here’s an illustration of what that term means:

Let’s say you are the proud owner of a 2014 Ford Explorer and you get hit by someone else, causing $15,000 worth of damage. The car is not totaled but, obviously, has sustained significant damage. Everyone knows that they should look to the negligent driver’s insurance to pay for that $15,000 repair, but there’s another loss that you should be covered for, as well.

Diminutive Value

Total claim

When you go to sell that 2014 Explorer and the next buyer sees from the Carfax report that it was in an accident that caused $15,000 worth of damage, they won’t be willing to pay full Blue Book value for your car. That is a financial loss for you!

Therefore, you can require the negligent driver’s insurance company to pay you for this loss. When you do so, you make a “diminution of value claim.” The value of your car was diminished by the accident, even after all of the repairs were made, and you should be compensated for it.

Now, the insurance company might offer you $2,000 for the diminished value but we could argue that your car lost $6,500 in value. (Truth be told, this example is from a case that we’re handling right now and we are countering the insurance company’s offer for exactly this amount.) That’s an extra $4,500 in your pocket!

There are companies out there now that help you to determine the loss of value on your car after an accident and we have a relationship with one that has agreed to offer our clients a fee reduction when we refer them. Call us and we’ll share the company’s name; you could also ask us about other shenanigans that you might be facing from the other driver’s insurance company. We’d love to chat. (No charge, of course!)

If you have been in an accident, hopefully you’re not hurt! Next, think about your car and how you can get all of the repairs covered, including payment for its lost value. Why should you lose a single dime due to someone else’s negligence?

Have questions about this article? Give me a call at 303-388-5304.



Great Denver Nonprofit Organizations and Philanthropists

Denver Rescue Mission

A member of my team here at the O’Sullivan Law Firm takes her family to the Denver Rescue Mission on a regular basis to help feed the homeless. Janalee Card Chmel, our writer, says that her family’s first trip to the Rescue Mission was intimidating.

Denver Rescue Mission“I took two of my three daughters and we didn’t know what to expect,” says Janalee. “My teenage daughters, in particular, were nervous because they aren’t often exposed to poverty, which is one of the reasons I thought it was important to volunteer in the first place.”

Janalee reports that the experience was so positive that her daughters asked when they could go back and do it again.

“We felt so welcomed! And even better, we felt useful,” she says. “They put us to work prepping and serving food. My daughters had conversations with people who opened up a whole new world to them. I’m sure we gained ten times more than we gave.”

She says it’s very easy to volunteer. Simply go to the organization’s website and click the “Volunteer” button. The rest is simple. When you show up, you’ll get a brief training and then get right to work.

Since their first visit, Janalee’s family has been back several times and she says they always have an enjoyable experience.

“Honestly, it’s a lot of fun!”

Good luck, Summer Olympians!

“You feel the Olympics and you get chills and nervous and a little scared. You go through the emotional roller coaster at what it’s like to compete at the Olympic level and you let that run through your whole body.”

—Bode Miller

How Volunteering Can Make You Happier

Have you ever had the experience of volunteering just because it was something that you believe in? That is where you can find the beauty of giving back. Here are some benefits of volunteering.

Volunteering is Good for Your Mind

VolunteerWhen you volunteer, you give a part of yourself to another. This works wonders for your mind. When you stop thinking about yourself and your problems and focus on another, your mind is more at ease and more at peace with itself.

Also, giving back has a way of boosting chemicals in your brain and making you happier and improves your mood, as well. Taking the focus off you and placing it on the good of another is the true meaning of benevolence.

Volunteering Can Have Lasting Health Benefits

When you volunteer you release a whole bunch of feel-good chemicals that help you sleep better at night, give you more energy during the day and help you to achieve and maintain better overall health.

Giving Back does Wonders for Your Soul

Giving back feels good deep down in your soul. If you have ever felt like you had no purpose, then try volunteering. There are so many different organizations that you are sure to find one that suits your personality. Whether you want to volunteer for an elderly facility or work with children or pets, you will be sure to find one that makes you feel fulfilled and purposeful.

It is Good for What Ails You

Volunteering is good for what ails you: it enables you to help another person through pain or hardship, taking your mind off yourself.

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