Property damage often gets overlooked when someone is injured or killed in an accident, but it frequently comprises an important part of many accident claims. For example, if you break your glasses in a slip and fall accident, the at-fault party should bear the few hundred dollars necessary to replace them.
A property damage claim is governed by the same laws as personal injury claims. Specifically, you can seek compensation for property losses caused by the intentional or negligent actions of others. Thus, your personal injury attorney will usually include property damage in your accident claim.
What Is Property Damage?
Property damage occurs anytime you are deprived of the function, value, or use of your property. For example, in the event that you are involved in a car accident, you would suffer property damage if your car is dented or outright totaled.
Importantly, you incur losses even if you do not own the damaged vehicle. If you lease or make payments on a damaged car, most insurance policies will require you to pay a deductible to repair it. That expense qualifies as a property loss you can recover from the at-fault driver.
How to Prove Liability For Property Damage
Someone may be liable for property damage for intentional acts. Thus, you can pursue a claim for trespass if the vandalized property is a building or land. Trespass to chattels applies when the vandalized property is a personal item, like a car.
However, such a claim excludes accidental acts or “acts of God.” If someone falls on your car after being pushed by a gust of wind, they would not be liable for the scratch or dent they caused. Instead, you must prove that the individual intended to touch the vehicle, even if they did not necessarily plan to damage it.
The other party might also be liable for negligently damaging your property. Negligence means the other person owed you a duty of care and breached it by failing to exercise reasonable caution. As such, someone negligently causes property damage when they act unreasonably and carelessly.
For example, a driver may be liable for negligent damage to your bicycle if they crowded you while passing and nudged you off the road. You would include your injury-related losses and property losses in a single bicycle accident claim against the driver.
The Role Of Insurance
Property insurance will often affect a damage claim in two ways. First, the property owner might have insured the damaged property against damage by way of casualty insurance. For a homeowner, casualty insurance would take the form of homeowner’s insurance. And for a vehicle owner, it would involve comprehensive coverage of their vehicle.
Casualty insurance can cover damages without regard to fault. Thus, comprehensive coverage will pay you if your car is damaged by vandalism or a hailstorm. Similarly, you can file a collision claim whether you or the other driver caused a crash.
The second way insurance can affect a claim is that most people and businesses have liability insurance, which covers them if they damage someone else’s property. Liability insurance involves three entities: the policyholder buys insurance from the insurer to protect property belonging to third parties.
The most common form of liability insurance is the property damage liability (PDL) coverage in your auto policy. South Carolina requires vehicle owners to carry at least $25,000 in PDL coverage to register their vehicles. If you negligently cause a crash, your insurer will pay up to $25,000 to repair or replace the other person’s property.
Compensation For Property Damage
In the event that your property is damaged or destroyed due to someone else’s negligent or intentional acts, you can pursue a legal claim for the losses you incur. If you can fix your property, the claim will cover the repair costs. You will usually gather a few repair quotes and submit them to the other party’s insurer.
If your property was destroyed, the insurer will declare the property a “total loss” and pay you the actual cash value (ACV) of your property. The ACV is the replacement value minus the depreciation due to wear and tear.
For example, suppose that you would pay $15,000 to replace your totaled vehicle with another vehicle of the same make, model, and year. However, your car was five years old and had been in a minor fender bender before it was totaled. The insurer might deduct $2,000 from the replacement value of your vehicle to calculate the ACV.
Consult A Lawyer To Learn More
Property damage claims can be complicated due to the complex calculations used to estimate your losses. Moreover, most insurers’ offers are often negotiable.
Thankfully, when you retain the services of a lawyer, they can document your claim, double-check the insurer’s calculations, and negotiate a fair settlement. Contact a lawyer to learn more about property damage claims.
You might pay significant money after suffering an injury. Contact a Rock Hill personal injury lawyer at Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys at 803-324-7574 to learn how you can recover this money under South Carolina law.