Can I refuse my repaired car if it is less than $500 from being totaled and do I have rights to emotional damages from the accident?
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Can I refuse my repaired car if it is less than $500 from being totaled and do I have rights to emotional damages from the accident?
After being discharged from the hospital from having surgery my husband,son and I were all involved in a hit and run accident coming down the highway. My insurance provided a rental immediately and over 30 days later my car is still not ready. I had to turn the rental car back in because they were going to make me pay for anything past the 30 day mark. I am without a car and my damages were less than $400 away from being totaled. Can I refuse the car once it is finished and demand that they total it? Also, my son was involved in another accident with my aunt last year and this one was really difficult on him. His anxiety is super high when riding in the car and he is always nervous when we are in parking lots around moving cars. I have been out of work since the accident partially because of my surgery but am I entitled to any kind of payment due to these circumstances?
Asked on August 6, 2018 under Accident Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
1) No, you cannot demand that they total it. Even if the damage exceeded the car's value, the insurer has the right to pay for repairs if it wants. The insurer, not you, makes the decision as to when to total a car.
2) No, there is no compensation for emotional damages in a car accident unless you can prove that it wasn't an "accident"--that rather, that the other person deliberately hit you. It takes an intentional wrongful act--a deliberate attempt to harm--to make emotional damages potentially availabile in a car accident.
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