When people are involved in an automobile collision, they can be injured and have property damage to their vehicle.  If the vehicle gets totaled out (the cost to repair the vehicle exceeds the value), the insurance company is only required to pay fair market value (what a similar vehicle costs), not the value of the loan (especially if you owe more than what the vehicle is worth) or what a person believes the value to be to him or her.People are typically more upset about the property damage offer for a total loss on their vehicle than they are about their potentially  permanent injuries.  Unfortunately, trying to increase a property damage offer is usually a losing battle.  Insurers use market valuation software and comparable vehicles to determine total loss valuations and they tend to be fairly close.  Class action lawsuits against several valuation software products have been denied by courts in multiple states.  Essentially, the courts consistently deem the software valuations fair and accurate compensation.

We posted a video three years ago for when this issue comes up.  Our best chance of improving the offer is finding substantially similar vehicles actively selling for higher prices than the insurance company is offering.  Keep in mind, while there is little room to negotiate property damage, an attorney can add significant value to the injury portion of the claim, potentially adding thousands or tens of thousands in value, so it is important to not get disenfranchised by the process if the property damage portion does not go as well as planned.  The best course is to simply put in the work to improve the injury portion to ensure full and fair compensation and make up for the disappointing property damage.

Rana Law Group is a proud sponsor of this year’s Light The Night fundraiser (happening on Saturday October 12th) to help find a cure for blood cancers.  Tarun’s brother was diagnosed with leukemia in 2020 and received treatment during COVID which made the experience more difficult and isolating.  However (thanks to groups like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society), we are happy to report he is now in remission and back to living a normal life!   Light the Night 2024 has already raised more than half a million dollars for cancer research and our firm is happy to be a part of financially supporting such a great mission.  If you attend this year, let us know and we will look for you along the course!

Just for Fun: Tarun’s New Cat

From time to time, clients call and ask which type of cases we handle.  Our practice is built on referrals from satisfied clients.  We know that if we work hard and do a good job for our clients, they will tell their friends about us.  The best compliment from a former client is that client entrusting us with the potential case of their friend or family.  Our office specializes in the following cases:

1. Personal Injury (auto collisions, trucking, motorcycle, slip and fall, dog bites)
2. Work Injuries
3. Traffic tickets and DUI/DWI

If you know someone that meets these criteria, please have them call our office.  If someone does not quite fit the above criteria, please still have the prospective referral give us a call as we can usually help the person find the right attorney via a referral.

Thank you very much to everyone who already left a review, we appreciate it!  If you have not left one and have some kind words, we would appreciate the time.