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Driver runs a red light, damages my commercial trailer, fault found in my favor. may be in repair shop for weeks, 1000 miles from home. Due to nature of specialty trailer, no rentals can be found. Been in hotel waiting for his insurance company to send adjuster, still perhaps days away. Are they liable for hotel room, and loss of wages. They seem to be offering to pay 80% of gross for the contract I had, but what about after that....I gross about 1,000 a day.? Can I sue the other party for damages insurance won't pay? This is in Georgia (Savannah)
Already Tried: Dealing with their insurance directly. My insurance said they would only pay for trailer damage, and nothing more, no loss of wages, no hotels, so I figured try to reason with their insurance
I am extremely sorry to hear of your accident. You do need to be aware that your insurance company would have a right to try to collect from the other party's insurance company if they pay for the repairs to the trailer. I am also not sure why a similar trailer cannot be found for rental. You do need to know that you are required to mitigate your damages by trying to rent so you need to call around and have proof that you have actually tried and could not find any replacement. You need actual names and phone numbers of the places that you have tried. How much you can collect from the other party's insurance depends on the limits of their insurance. That is an important fact that you need to know but you may have to retain an attorney before you can find that out. I also don't know if you have under insured motorist insurance. That could be a very important issue. You would be entitled to sue the other driver for all of your damages which would include lost wages, hotel bills, etc. An insurance company will do anything to keep from paying so you can expect to have to file suit against the other driver. For example they may say that you were 20% at fault and only want to pay 80% of the damages.The problem is that they know an attorney will want one third so they will reduce any offer to settle accordingly. They also know that you need the money and need it now, not two or three years down the road. If you do settle, be sure that your insurance company will not want a part of the settlement. If you do want to consult with an attorney, here is a referral sitehttp://www.lawyer.comYou can give a positive rating and continue if you have a follow up question
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Thanks....given the nature of my trailer, they are very hard to find.....and rentals almost impossible. I will call all of the places I called today and make sure to get names and such, perhaps even ask for them to send me an email saying they're sorry but no trailers available.
but now I give a third to the attorney, I loseThe insurance company knows that which is why they will low ball and try to get you to settle. Unfortunately in most cases that is your best option. However, they are still responsible for your total damages, especially since no rental is available.