Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 10/29/2009

Question
My son has a tractor trailer that hit a moose.  Part of the repairs included replacing the hood.  My son told the adjuster that not any 99 International hood would work on this particular truck, for one thing the motor mounts were different.  The ins co found a used one & had it shipped from GA to ME.  It wouldn't fit.  Turned out it was because of it having external breathers.  Then they realized the damaged hood was mnf. by a 3rd party company.  Adj. called & they said it had to have been modified in the field because they don't make one for external breathers.  A week was lost trying to work this out & after pleading by the shop the ins co finally ordered a new hood from the International mnf. which will take 2 weeks more to get here.  This means an additional 3 wks of lost work.  He's already lost 3 weeks. Should the ins co compensate my son for the additional lost time? Thank you.

Answer
Hi Susan,

Since your son is dealing with his own insurance company, what he is entitled to is determined by the policy/contract. If there is no coverage in the policy for loss of revenue then they will not pay him for any lost work. If the accident had been with another vehicle that was at fault then your sone could have made a claim for lost income from that insurance company.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh