Barnum, TX Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

Your wife clearly has damages from the Trader Joes pizza.  Hopefully, you have the hard plastic pieces under the cheese.  And, if you have the tooth or photos of the tooth and the hard plastic under the cheese.  Make sure you keep a copy of the bills from the dentist, the amount of time this has or will cause your wife to spend dealing with her tooth as well as any way that this has affected your wife. You will need to provide the attorney you consult the name of the Trader Joe's she went to to make the purchase.  While it is still fresh on her mind and yours, write down the date of the occurrence so that it is not forgotten.  If you paid for the pizza on a debit card, print that out along with the receipt if you have it. If a report was made to the store; what was stated by your wife or you, have they tried to contact you and talk to you or your wife is also information that the attorney will want to to know. ideally you kept the pizza box with the name of the manufacturer on it. I would encourage you to seek the advice of an attorney.  

The reason you have insurance is to protect you in the event that your car, or anyone driving it with your permission, is responsible for causing an accident and resulting injury. While the driver's insurance should be primary on the injury claims, if there are any, your insurance should be primary on your property damage claim. While her insurance may be willing to pay for your property damage, the reason you have insurance is to repair your vehicle when it is damaged, whether your fault or not. You have a first party contractual relationship with your carrier and as a result they must treat you fairly, while you have no such relationship with the driver's insurance. Therefore, they don't have to repair disputed damage, nor do they have to repair it in a reasonable period of time. If you pursue repairs through your own carrier, they will subrogate the amount they pay to repair your vehicle, meaning they will pursue reimbursement from the driver's carrier. Therefore, instead of dealing with a company with which you have no relationship and hence no real leverage over, you should pursue your property damage repairs through your own carrier and let them go get it from the other company. Given the accident is not your fault and your carrier will be getting reimbursement there should be no adverse effect on your premiums.

You may wish to hire a personal injury attorney. Most will give you a free initial consultation during which you can have your questions answered. Before talking with a lawyer you may wish to determine if the case is worth pursuing, or perhaps small claims court might be a good option. This will depend upon your physical injuries, your father's injuries and the other driver's money situation. If the responsible driver has insurance then you are more likely to gain more than you will spend by filing a lawsuit, however if there is no insurance then there may be no ability for the driver to pay for the damages. Keep in mind that in Colorado there is a three year statute of limitations for claims arising from a motor vehicle accident, you must file your lawsuit within three years of the accident or lose your right to do so. Other time limitations may apply.