As an accident victim, you are not limited to recovering only your medical costs. In Virginia and Maryland, an accident victim may sue for the diminution in value of their property.
Diminution in value is a method courts use to determine how much money you are owed as the victim of an accident. In simple terms, if you are involved in an accident and your car can be repaired, but its value as repaired is less than the value of the car before the accident, you may be able to recover the difference between the current value of your car and the car’s value prior to accident.
Example: While driving home from the Mercedes-Benz dealer, a reckless driver rear ends your brand new S-class coupe. You paid $100,000 for the coupe but after the reckless driver’s insurance paid for all of its repairs, the coupe is only worth $60,000. In addition to other damages, you may be able to recover the lost $40,000 in value.
A unique aspect of diminution of value is that you, the accident victim, may be able to sue your insurance company or the party who caused the accident. Claims against your insurance company are “first-party claims” and those against the party at fault are “third-party claims.”
If you have been in an accident, do not hesitate to contact us. You may be able to recover more than you think.
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