What To Consider If Your Car Is Towed After An Accident
4 min read
Where a car is not in a drivable situation, it must be towed from the accident scene. If your car has been towed after an accident, you may be wondering how to go about your case and how to repair the vehicle.
One basic advantage to have your car towed is that the evidence will be maintained until accident investigations are over. However, you will still be worried about the fees it will accumulate when it is at a tow yard or the mechanic garage.
If you believe the other driver was at fault, you have no reason to worry about who is to pay for the towing and repair costs.
Find out what you should do in such a situation.
When Your Car Is Being Towed
The fact is that you do have to allow any towing company to tow your car. You may have a choice of who is to tow the vehicle. You may require your insurance company to take up the responsibility as they will not tamper with any evidence.
You may also choose where you want your car towed to rather than towing it to a yard. There are always scams in such situations. It would be better to have someone you trust tow your car.
Car Accident Lawyer In Wasilla
Being involved in a car accident is traumatizing. It becomes hard to deal with any injuries suffered. Worse still is when you have to check your car as it is being towed. In such a situation, it becomes difficult to make a sound decision. Such is when you should consider having a car accident lawyer in Wasilla take over your case to allow you time for recovery. When your car is being towed, a few things to consider may play a part in your claim. Some of these include:
- Take as much information as possible:Before anyone tow your car, either the police or a hired tow truck, collect as much information as possible. You can take photographs or any other proof of damage
- Know where your car is towed: Your car may be towed to a repair shop or a tow yard. It would be better to have your car towed to a mechanic of your insurance choice rather than a tow yard.
- The car should remain untouched until after the completion of investigations.
- Find out whether the at-fault driver has an insurance cover and what their policy entails. If the other driver has no cover, you will get compensation from your own insurance.
If your car stays several weeks at the toeing yard, this will be costly. Therefore, after investigation, you may pick up your car for repair to get back on the road. Again, you will need to know who will repair and make payment for the same. Any repair cost to be paid will mostly depend on:
- Who led to your accident
- What is the available insurance coverage
- How far your vehicle was damaged or the extent of damage
Who Will Pay For Towing Costs?
If your car accident was caused through negligence, the at-fault driver insurance company is responsible for all costs until the vehicle gets out of the tow yard. However, if the at-fault driver doesn’t have enough policy to cater to the expenses, you will need to use your collision coverage. Your insurance will later subrogate after settlement. The insurance will be used regardless of who was at fault. If you were at fault or partly to blame for your vehicle damage, you will have to pay for your towing costs. You may find it worthwhile to do all you can to get your car out of the tow yard in such a situation.
Again, the insurance company will have to consider whether there was any mitigation of damages. The reason is that they may deter paying for storage fees if they find out such fees were unnecessary.
Get Repair Cost Estimate
As you await your car pick-up day, you need to check your car repair auto options.
Remember that the at-fault driver insurance will only pay for damages up to the value of your car. So you need to get an estimated figure for repairing your car. The estimate should be enough to cater to your car repair expenses.
However, you should not get low ball estimates and be forced to use out-of-pocket expenses for your repairs. In such a scenario, it would be best to have an experienced car accident lawyer help you pick up the right estimate. Such a lawyer knows whether the insurance quoted amount will be enough for your repairs.
If you suffered injuries after the accident, the last thing would be to think of repair costs. Your health comes first, and you need time to recover. As such, it would pay to have a lawyer handle issues with towing and how to file a claim to recover damages.
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