Toyota Recalls Continue to Increase

It’s not as often that product recalls intersect with potential car wreck issues, but this past week brought one to our attention: Toyota has now recalled 5.3 million vehicles due to issues with their gas pedals.  The recalls are two separate issues: one deals with a gas pedal that can become caught on the edge of the removable floormat, leading to uncontrollable acceleration, while the other deals with accelerator pedals that can stick independently.  The following vehicles are affected by this recall:

2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry
2009-2010 Corolla
2008-2010 Highlander
2007-2010 Lexus ES350
2006-2010 Lexus IS250
2006-2010 Lexus IS350
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe
2004-2010 Prius
2009-2010 RAV4
2008-2010 Sequoia
2010 Tacoma
2007-2010 Tundra
2009-2010 Venza

Toyota has informed its car owners that this is a gradually developing issue for these cars, so that by and large the cars are still safe to drive.  If you feel, for any reason, that your gas pedal is becoming sticky, stop driving immediately and call a dealer for assistance.  When the company has arrived at a solution for the gas pedal issue, it will inform all owners for replacement.  If you are concerned with your vehicle, take it to a Toyota dealer to get a status check on your gas pedal.  Read this helpful article from CNN Money for more advice on how to handle issues with your recalled Toyota vehicle, and drive safe!

New Texting Guidelines Announced

CNN alerted us today of new federal guidelines announced Tuesday of this week by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that prohibit commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while driving.  These new rules are effective immediately and come with stiff penalties of up to $2,750 fines.  LaHood has been on a campaign to decrease the often deadly effects of distracted driving during his tenure, including a summit in Washington on the topic, the launch of distraction.gov, and the creation of advocacy group FocusDriven.  These regulations are in addition to 19 states banning texting while driving and the 6 states who have banned the use of handheld devices while driving altogether.  We’re in full support of these new regulations and guidelines – as the article notes, when you’re texting you take your eyes off of the road for 4.6 out of 6 seconds.  That’s 77% of the time, meaning you’re only looking at the road 23% of what you should be!  Horrifying, if you think about it.

My Car is Wrecked! What Now? (Part 3)

Let’s wrap up our series on property damage with a final few bits of information about the last stages of dealing with either a totaled vehicle or obtaining repairs on a still-drivable car:

9.  Keep in mind that sometimes it’s better to have your car repaired rather than totaled. For example, if you owe $10,000 on your loan but the car is only worth $7,000, it is not the insurance company’s responsibility to pay off your loan.

10.  Find out if you have bought GAP insurance when you purchased your car. GAP insurance can help you fill in the difference if you owe more on your car than what it’s worth.  There are a lot of stipulations with GAP insurance, so we recommend that if you are in an accident and your vehicle is totaled, go ahead and file your GAP claim immediately – it can take up to three months to process.

11.  If your car is a total loss, you have the option to “retain salvage.” This means the insurance company will pay you the Fair Market Value of your car minus a salvage amount.  Salvaging a car means you can keep your vehicle, but the title will change to “salvaged-rebuilt.”  This can be a good option if you own an older car that are already paid for and didn’t sustain much damage.

Hopefully that answered some of your initial questions about dealing with property damage after a car wreck.  If you are having difficulties at any part of this process, we urge you to contact an attorney that may be able to ease the way for you!

My Car is Wrecked! What Now? (Part 2)

Continuing from our last post, here are the next few steps you will have to go through when dealing with property damage after a car wreck:

5.  Get the determination from the appraiser if your car is a “total loss” or if it is repairable. If it is repairable, you have the right to choose where you wish your car to be repaired.  The insurance company should cover towage costs if you need to move the car to another body shop from the one it was initially towed to.  A body shop cannot start repairs without authorization from you.  Make sure to stay in contact with the shop as repairs progress.

6.  If the car is being repaired, rebuilt parts are only acceptable if they come with a separate warranty. Make sure to insist that the shop warranty the parts (and labor) if they are insisting on using rebuilt parts.

7.  The day you are informed your repairs are complete is likely the day the insurance company will cease providing a rental car for you. Make sure you confirm this so you are not left without transportation.

8.  Insurance companies total vehicles when the damage to the vehicle is equal to 75% of the value of the vehicle. Once an offer is made to you by the insurance company on your vehicle, they can cut off your rental car.  Remember, you are entitled to the Fair Market Value of your car – the best resources to determine that value are the NADA Used Car Value Guide or the Kelly Blue Book.

Watch for our third and last post in this series tomorrow as we discuss the final few issues you may come across when dealing with your property damage.  To be continued…

My Car is Wrecked! What Now?

The first steps to take after a car accident are the most crucial.  Of course, injuries should take priority over anything, but if you are dealing with property damage and are physically able, the following few actions will help you move forward in dealing with your car wreck:

1. Contact both your insurance company and the insurance company of the other driver(s). No matter who was at fault, everyone needs to know in case one party or the other isn’t covered by insurance.  And your insurance company may be able to help fill in some gaps that another underinsured motorist’s carrier may not be able to cover.
2. Get photographs of your vehicle prior to the appearance of the appraiser. Every angle, the license plate, the odometer, and the car’s interior are all important – they may have to support you later on as insurance companies try to dispute your claim.
3. If your car is drivable, make sure to get estimates from at least two body shops. This will help you get a better understanding of the true total damage to your vehicle.
4. Request a rental vehicle if your car is non-drivable. You are entitled to one from the day of the accident until either a. an offer is made on your total-loss car or b. your car repairs are done.  You are not entitled to a rental car if your car is still drivable.  If authorization on a rental car is dragging, you are entitled to “loss of use,” even if you have another car at your disposal.

Check our next post for the next steps in the process of dealing with property damage as the result of a car accident!  To be continued….

James Ferrell honored in Memphis Magazine for a second consecutive year

We are pleased to announce that our firms principal attorney, James Ferrell, has once again been selected as a Five Star: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager in the Attorney Section of Memphis Magazine.

This is a great honor for the firm and for Mr. Ferrell and he would like to thank all of his clients and Memphis Magazine for this great honor.

The full list of selected advisors was published in the fall issue of Memphis Magazine. Look for Mr. Ferrell’s listings under the Lawyer/Attorney section.