Attorney Richard Griffin of The Griffin Law Firm, P.C. specializes in handling diminished value claims in addition to personal injury claims, wrongful death claims, worker's compensation claims, and social security disability claims. Our firm can help you recover this damage but only after you sign a diminished value contract authorizing us to represent you for your diminished value claim. The Attorney fee is a contingency fee which based on the amount of the recovery. There is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery.

Diminished Value is the damage or loss that the owner of a motor vehicle incurs when a motor vehicle is damaged in a motor vehicle accident. The damage is the amount of money the vehicle has depreciated or lost due to the fact that it has been repaired. It is above and beyond the cost of repairs which must also be paid by the insurance company. Often when selling your used car to an individual or a car dealership you will be asked if your vehicle has ever been wrecked. The fact that the vehicle has been wrecked and repaired can also be found by purchasing a report from companies such as Carfax Report. Once it is known that the car or truck has been wrecked and repaired the value may drop thousands of dollars. The amount of this depreciation or diminished value is best determined by experts in the field that often consider thirty or more factors. These factors often include the cost of the repairs, the ratio of pre-accident value to cost of the repairs, frame damage, type of vehicle involved, age of the vehicle, etc. The amount of the diminished value is based on the amount that future buyers will deduct since it has been involved in a wreck.

Georgia law provides for the recovery of diminished value. On important case was State Farm v. Mabry, 274 GA 498 (Sup. Ct. GA 2001). In this case the Supreme Court of Georgia held that insurance companies are required to pay for the diminished value claims.

In this case the Supreme Court of Georgia Holding: The foregoing review of Georgia case law establishes clearly that value, not condition, is the baseline for the measure of damages in a claim under an automobile insurance policy in which the insurer undertakes to pay for the insured's loss from a covered event, and that a limitation of liability provision affording the insurer an option to repair serves only to abate, not eliminate, the insurer's liability for the difference between pre-loss value and post-loss value.

Often insurance adjusters attempt to use this State Farm v. Mabry case incorrectly. Adjusters often attempt to use the formula used to settle this class action lawsuit as the formula for paying all future diminished value claims. John W. Oxendine, the Insurance commissioner of the state of Georgia has issued a directive which states that insurance adjusters should stop telling claimants that the formula from this case is the way to assign the value to a diminished value claim for future claims. This can be seen below:

Effective immediately, any insurer disseminating information and/or appraisals to their insureds shall cease using any language which implies the Department has endorsed a particular formula or method to determine diminution of value. Specifically, any insurer disseminating information and/or appraisals to their insureds shall cease using any language which implies that the Mabry decision or any other requirement of the Department supports the proposition that the diminished value result obtained by a carrier's use of a particular formula or method constitutes the definitive determination of the carrier's liability to its insured. [Office Of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Directive 08-P&C-2]

Without an experienced diminished value attorney, adjuster will often refuse to pay diminished value or offer pennies on the dollar to settle your diminished value claim. Further, it is important to be very careful and cautious when signing any Release from an insurance company. If you sign a General Release, then you usually have waived your claim to any other claims such as personal injury or wrongful death.

The attorneys at The Griffin Law Firm welcome you to call for a free consultation for your diminished value claim and for the injury claim (personal injury, wrongful death, or worker's compensation claims) which may also arise from a motor vehicle accident. You can use our Contact Us forms or call us at 866-847-6546.