Hi, I'm looking for advice around a potential Diminished Value Claim on my 2015 Model S.
About a month ago, my vehicle was hit in a parking lot. The other driver left the scene (hit and run). Fortunately, my dual dash cam recorded everything:
- He hits my car in his heavy pickup truck
- He gets out and pretends to leave a note. Puts a blank piece of paper on my windshield - and then removes it.
- He drives away.
The dash cam is HD, and shows a very clear picture of the pickup and its license plate, and the driver's face as he pretends the leave the note. He was cited for reckless op and hit and run (arraignment in a couple weeks in Denver court). To date I have not posted the video publicly but I'll bet a news outlet would run it on the air - they love to run "red handed" videos like this.
Anyway, the damage looks like it will be substantial. At this point, I'm assuming I'll be without the car (which is driveable now, and I'm still driving it) for several months once I bring it to the shop. Rear quarter panel and bumper cover are badly damaged; but also, body no longer lines up - trunk is offset, and trim inside the trunk is no longer attached. Probably frame damage.
I'm in Colorado, where LOU is specifically laid out as recoverable in the law, but DV is established by legal precedent and not as clear.
For the record, I would have some level of sympathy for someone who hit my car and was up front about it. In this case, where I had to build a case myself for the police to find someone who tried to stick me with fixing my own car when he hit me, I have no qualms about pursuing all the remedies I am entitled to under the law.
So based on this, I was wondering three questions:
1) Is there anyone here who has successfully pursued a Diminished Value, and Loss of Use, claim, on a model S? If you have, would you mind PMing me?
2) Does anyone (in particular @nybw51mr42 - you said in a post that you are a litigator willing to provide limited advice) have legal advice about how to deal with the defendant's insurance company? Does accepting their rental with Enterprise just so that I have a car to drive harm my LOU claim? I can rent a car myself, but A) it will cost more (I don't get their rates), and B) It will be more of a risk in case I don't win a LOU claim.
3) Is anyone aware of any Colorado cases where DV and LOU was awarded to a Tesla owner? I've read about some really high numbers (as high as $25K in DV and $10K in LOU) but I have no idea what a realistic expectation is.
4) My plan is to submit a DV and LOU report (which I'm happy to pay for) to the insurance company when the repair is done. Assuming they will refuse to pay any of it, or offer to settle at 25% or something, I will probably need to hire an attorney and go after attorneys' fees due to bad faith on the part of the insurance company. Does anyone know of an attorney in Colorado willing to take a smaller tort case that doesn't involve personal injury?
Sorry, that's a lot of asks, but I welcome any advice, particularly based on your own experience in a situation like this.
About a month ago, my vehicle was hit in a parking lot. The other driver left the scene (hit and run). Fortunately, my dual dash cam recorded everything:
- He hits my car in his heavy pickup truck
- He gets out and pretends to leave a note. Puts a blank piece of paper on my windshield - and then removes it.
- He drives away.
The dash cam is HD, and shows a very clear picture of the pickup and its license plate, and the driver's face as he pretends the leave the note. He was cited for reckless op and hit and run (arraignment in a couple weeks in Denver court). To date I have not posted the video publicly but I'll bet a news outlet would run it on the air - they love to run "red handed" videos like this.
Anyway, the damage looks like it will be substantial. At this point, I'm assuming I'll be without the car (which is driveable now, and I'm still driving it) for several months once I bring it to the shop. Rear quarter panel and bumper cover are badly damaged; but also, body no longer lines up - trunk is offset, and trim inside the trunk is no longer attached. Probably frame damage.
I'm in Colorado, where LOU is specifically laid out as recoverable in the law, but DV is established by legal precedent and not as clear.
For the record, I would have some level of sympathy for someone who hit my car and was up front about it. In this case, where I had to build a case myself for the police to find someone who tried to stick me with fixing my own car when he hit me, I have no qualms about pursuing all the remedies I am entitled to under the law.
So based on this, I was wondering three questions:
1) Is there anyone here who has successfully pursued a Diminished Value, and Loss of Use, claim, on a model S? If you have, would you mind PMing me?
2) Does anyone (in particular @nybw51mr42 - you said in a post that you are a litigator willing to provide limited advice) have legal advice about how to deal with the defendant's insurance company? Does accepting their rental with Enterprise just so that I have a car to drive harm my LOU claim? I can rent a car myself, but A) it will cost more (I don't get their rates), and B) It will be more of a risk in case I don't win a LOU claim.
3) Is anyone aware of any Colorado cases where DV and LOU was awarded to a Tesla owner? I've read about some really high numbers (as high as $25K in DV and $10K in LOU) but I have no idea what a realistic expectation is.
4) My plan is to submit a DV and LOU report (which I'm happy to pay for) to the insurance company when the repair is done. Assuming they will refuse to pay any of it, or offer to settle at 25% or something, I will probably need to hire an attorney and go after attorneys' fees due to bad faith on the part of the insurance company. Does anyone know of an attorney in Colorado willing to take a smaller tort case that doesn't involve personal injury?
Sorry, that's a lot of asks, but I welcome any advice, particularly based on your own experience in a situation like this.