Expert: Bennie719 - 4/18/2008

Question
We made a claim on our work truck 5 months ago. We were struck in the front end by an uninsured motorist who fled on foot. The claim was made and repairs to the front end were covered with our uninsured motorist coverage. Five months later, we found that our trailer (which was involved in the initial accident and had not been pulled since) was not attaching properly to our truck. After having a repair shop inspect underneath our truck, they found extensive damage to the tow package and frame of the truck. We assume it is from the impact of the accident...causing the trailer to jam into our truck and cause the damage. My insurance company refuses to cover the extra repairs claiming that I cannot prove it was from the accident. However, they cannot prove that it wasn't. They said that the accident happened too far back and I could have caused the damage since then or that "metal fatigue" may be the culprit. How do I convince them otherwise?

Answer
Hi Shea,
I understand your situation and agree with you that it's easy to 'assume' this damage was caused by the accident 5 months ago.

Unfortunately, since there is a 5 month gap between the accident and your discovery of this new damage, it's just as easy to 'assume' that some other incident caused this damage.

If this damage had been discovered at the time of the accident, there would have been no question as to it's cause.  Since five months have passed, you now have the 'BURDEN OF PROOF' to tie this damage to the original accident in order for it to be covered.

You should start with the shop that repaired your truck and have them review their repair records to see if they even inspected the frame and towing package.

This is not going to be an easy case to settle, and I wish you luck.

I hope that you find this information useful.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area