Anything legal I can do here?
06-03-2001, 03:41 AM
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Anything legal I can do here?
Alright here is the deal.
Bought a 98' Dodge Avenger in 98. In 99 My now x-gf wrecked the car and totalled it. She was injured and had to have pins in her ankle. Her cousin was injured as well. Insurance covered everything except $700. Which they left to me.
Here is the stinker ..... back then I told the insurance company that I believed the cause of the accident was the ball joint ... because the 1995-1996 Avengers had a recall on them. And even tho I wasn't in the car with my x-gf that what she described to me and others about how the car reacted right before she wrecked it sounded like ball joint failure/seperation. And prior to the accident itself with me the car didn't handle right several times.... example being I would go around a curve doing around 30mph and the car would keep going straight despite the fact i was turning the steering wheel. I would have to jerk the wheel the opposite direction then jerk it back into the turns before the car would turn. Honestly I didn't think much of it then. I did ask the insurance if they would look into the ball joint problem and see if there was any evidence behind it. Well they refused which didn't surprise me. Said the car was too damaged to do an investigation, which after seeing the car I think was just a little BS.
ANyways this bring me to now ....... Just 3 days ago I get a Recall notice in the mail .... and on guess what ...... my 98 Dodge Avenger. The recall is for the ball joints and how ball joint seperation can occur and will cause loss of steering control and cause an accident without warning. EXACTLY the same things I was telling the insurance company that they even taped!
Do you guys think I can take any legal action on this? Please advise.
Bought a 98' Dodge Avenger in 98. In 99 My now x-gf wrecked the car and totalled it. She was injured and had to have pins in her ankle. Her cousin was injured as well. Insurance covered everything except $700. Which they left to me.
Here is the stinker ..... back then I told the insurance company that I believed the cause of the accident was the ball joint ... because the 1995-1996 Avengers had a recall on them. And even tho I wasn't in the car with my x-gf that what she described to me and others about how the car reacted right before she wrecked it sounded like ball joint failure/seperation. And prior to the accident itself with me the car didn't handle right several times.... example being I would go around a curve doing around 30mph and the car would keep going straight despite the fact i was turning the steering wheel. I would have to jerk the wheel the opposite direction then jerk it back into the turns before the car would turn. Honestly I didn't think much of it then. I did ask the insurance if they would look into the ball joint problem and see if there was any evidence behind it. Well they refused which didn't surprise me. Said the car was too damaged to do an investigation, which after seeing the car I think was just a little BS.
ANyways this bring me to now ....... Just 3 days ago I get a Recall notice in the mail .... and on guess what ...... my 98 Dodge Avenger. The recall is for the ball joints and how ball joint seperation can occur and will cause loss of steering control and cause an accident without warning. EXACTLY the same things I was telling the insurance company that they even taped!
Do you guys think I can take any legal action on this? Please advise.
06-03-2001, 07:26 AM
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I'd check it out for sure.
Your insurance company could sue Chrysler to recover the cost of paying out the claim. I'm sure your insurance company will be extremely interested in this new information.
You (and the others involved in the accident) could also sue Chrysler individually to recover the $700 not covered by insurance plus any other costs/losses/pain and suffering etc.
Definitely get a lawyer a.s.a.p.
Sounds like you, your ex gf, and her cousin have a case.
Your insurance company could sue Chrysler to recover the cost of paying out the claim. I'm sure your insurance company will be extremely interested in this new information.
You (and the others involved in the accident) could also sue Chrysler individually to recover the $700 not covered by insurance plus any other costs/losses/pain and suffering etc.
Definitely get a lawyer a.s.a.p.
Sounds like you, your ex gf, and her cousin have a case.
06-03-2001, 11:07 AM
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Well here is the deal. I'm not with that insurance company now. #1 Because they treated me like **** when I told them to look into the ball joints issue. They acted like it was my fault the car was wrecked. And that to believe that any previous recalls on older model Avengers doing the same thing in new model Avengers was basically stupid and wouldn't be suffeicient enough for them to look into it. And #2 it was hard as hell for me to get them to pay anything at all on the car even tho it was full coverage insurance. They implied a couple of times that because my x-gf was driving that the car was not covered, BUT my insurance policy covered ANYONE driving that car, not just me.
Like I said I KNEW back then what caused the wreck. I knew one day I would get this kind of info about it.
[ June 03, 2001: Message edited by: TiGgEr ]
Like I said I KNEW back then what caused the wreck. I knew one day I would get this kind of info about it.
[ June 03, 2001: Message edited by: TiGgEr ]
06-04-2001, 12:30 AM
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You will probably have to prove it was the ball joint that caused the wreck. Without the car that will be next to imposible.
Also there is a statute of limitations which is two years in most states.
The only thing you could possibly gain is the $700 you spent out of pocket. Pain and suffering would go to the x-gf and everthing else would go to the insurance. The lawyer will cost you more than $700 so it is not worth it.
Tell you x-gf cause she may want to pursue the for her injuries.
Also there is a statute of limitations which is two years in most states.
The only thing you could possibly gain is the $700 you spent out of pocket. Pain and suffering would go to the x-gf and everthing else would go to the insurance. The lawyer will cost you more than $700 so it is not worth it.
Tell you x-gf cause she may want to pursue the for her injuries.