What to do if we were in a car accident which was not our fault and our case is almost complete with our insurer, except for one bill?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if we were in a car accident which was not our fault and our case is almost complete with our insurer, except for one bill?
They refuse to pay for the rental of a jig used to do the repair on our vehicle. Their reason is that it is a “cost of doing business” and the auto shop’s responsibility to have the tools necessary to complete the job. There is nothing in the original scope of work about paying for equipment rental. The auto shop says we will be liable to pay the $1600 bill if insurer doesn’t. Are we liable to pay for their equipment rental?
Asked on January 3, 2013 under Accident Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
The insurer is typically not liable to pay for this: they are not obligated to pay for the auto shop's costs or equipment, and they are right in that it is a basic "cost of doing business" for an auto shop to have all necessary equipment. Just as the insurer does not need to pay the shop's rent, internet bills, worker's compensation, etc., it does not need to pay for the auto shop to have the equipment it needs.
If this $1,600 cost was disclosed to you prior to you agreeing to use this shop, then you most likely have to pay it--you would have agreed to the cost. If the fact that the auto shop needed to rent additional equipment for $1,600 was not disclosed to before hand, however, you should not be liable--they would have, in essence, committed fraud by not disclosing to you that they did not have the equipment necessary to repair your car.
Note one exception to the above: if the $1,600 cost was part of the total cost quoted to the insurer which the insurer accepted, then they would seem to have to honor it: having accepted the total cost, it's not a problem if that total cost anticipated equipment rental. It's if this was an additional cost to rent equipment, not part of the original quote, that the insurer would have good grounds to not pay.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.