Expert: Bennie719 - 10/24/2007

Question
I drive a '03 Chevy Silverado 4X4 truck and was rear-ended by an AT&T Utility truck on Friday.  AT&T is self-insured and I got a call from the "adjuster" the same day of the accident.  She told me to get two estimates and that she would write a check for the lower of the two.  Easy enough.  After driving the truck for the first part of the week, I noticed it has started making a griding noise that has progressively gotten worse.  This noise did not exist before the accident.  I have had several service techs tell me that it is probably the transfer case or transmission, which could have been caused fromt the impact.  How should I go about pursuing payment on this as well, without AT&T throwing up a red flag?

Answer
Hi Chuck,
You should have dealt with your own insurance company and had them handle the repairs (less your deductible).  They would have recovered from AT&T and reimbursed your deductible upon recovery.  When your own company repairs your vehicle, that claim remains OPEN and if any problems show up later that can be directly attributed to the accident, they will handle those losses.
By handling this directly with AT&T, you also signed a 'release of all claims' at the time you received the check.
This means that legally, they are out of the picture forever and you have no recourse for additional compensation.
You should contact the person at AT&T that you previously dealt with and explain the new problem and they might do something simply on a 'customer good will' basis although they have no legal obligation to even discuss the matter.
Even if they are willing to become re-involved, you need something stronger than a "Could Have" statement from a service technician.  You need a qualified mechanic to firmly state that your problem was definitely, positively caused by the accident.
I hope this has been of help, please write again if I can be of more assistance.
Your feedback to my answer will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area 10-24-07 12:35 PM PST