Gilbert garbage truck demolishes car, owner wants damage, costs taken care of

GILBERT, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - A garbage truck smashed into Jessica Garcia’s 2013 Hyundai Veloster a couple of months ago. The vehicle was parked in front of her house, off Higley Road and Chandler Heights Road in Gilbert. She figured the town of Gilbert would take care of the damage and all the costs. It hasn’t worked out that way. “We just want to be treated fairly,” said Garcia.

The Gilbert mom has been offered a settlement of just over $6,074.49 based on a fair market value assessment. But, unfortunately, the car is a total loss. Garcia insists that the replacement cost is thousands of dollars more, with several similar vehicles in the area selling for well over $13,000. “We could not, in this moment today go and buy that exact same car, same exact condition, same mileage, for anything under $11,000 -$12,000, and we’re being offer $6,000,” said Garcia. “It’s not comparable at all.”

Garcia said in addition to what she considers a “low ball” offer, she has been forced to miss several days of work to transfer the car’s title, file the claim and get the vehicle to the collision center. Then, last week, Garcia was notified that if she didn’t accept the town’s offer, her rental car would be cut off. “The word that comes to mind is strong armed,” said Garcia. “I feel like we are being strong armed into accepting an unfair claim, an unfair amount of money for the car.” Garcia submitted a claim asking for $8,649 but was told the town of Gilbert’s offer would stay the same.

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Arizona’s Family received this statement from the town of Gilbert:

On November 18, 2022, a Town-owned garbage truck accidentally hit a parked vehicle owned by (Ms. Garcia.) That same day, the Town Risk Management Department reached out to (Ms. Garcia) explaining how to file a claim and providing her a rental car at the town’s cost. On January 3, 2023, the town received an appraisal for the vehicle, which deemed the vehicle to be a total loss. The appraisal valued the vehicle at $6,550, and that same day—despite there being approximately $3,000 in damage to the vehicle that existed prior to the accident—the town offered (Ms. Garcia) the full appraised value of the vehicle, plus additional money for taxes and other adjustments (in total, (Ms. Garcia) was offered $7,075.45, less $1,000 that (Ms. Garcia) would receive directly for the salvage value of the vehicle). The town also offered to continue to pay for the rental car for two additional weeks (until January 18, 2023) to allow (Ms. Garcia) time to purchase a replacement vehicle. Further, the town did not withhold any money for taxes. In fact, as part of the settlement offer, the town offered to pay (Ms. Garcia) an additional sum of $510.90 to compensate her for sales tax she would pay if she purchased a replacement vehicle from a dealership.
(Ms. Garcia’s) main complaint seems to be that the town did not agree to compensate her for her time in dealing with the claim and that the town did not agree to provide her with an open-ended rental vehicle. As a policy (and as consistent with the standard practice of other cities and insurance companies), the town does not compensate claimants for their time and does not provide unlimited vehicle rentals (insurance companies, for example, typically provide rentals for not more than 30 days). Here, the town, in good faith, provided Ms. Silvers with a rental car for over 60 days (far in excess of what any insurance company would provide), at a total cost to the town of $2,486.03. This vehicle rental cost paid by the town is in addition to the $7,684.36 in storage fees paid by the town to store (Ms. Garcia’s)’ vehicle while she decided whether or not to accept the offer.
The Town of Gilbert receives and settles dozens of claims every year. As it does with every claim, the town has treated (Ms. Garcia) fairly and denies any allegation that the town tried to pressure her into accepting an offer. On January 3, 2023, town offered (Ms. Garcia) the fair market value of her vehicle, which Ms. Silvers initially agreed to (see January 10, 2023 email) but then ultimately decided not to accept. Similarly, (Ms. Garcia) was notified on January 3 that the town would only continue to pay for the vehicle rental until January 18, and in fact, the town paid for (Ms. Garcia)’ rental vehicle until January 19 (total of 63 days). Any allegations that the town pressured (Ms. Garcia) to accept the town’s offer is baseless. Just as (Ms. Garcia) has the right to accept or reject the town’s offer, the town also has the right to accept or reject (Ms. Garcia’s) counteroffer.

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“I wasn’t trying to ask above and beyond, just wanted average compensation to get us back to where we were before all this happened,” said Garcia. The Gilbert mom said she can’t afford an attorney. She is hoping town officials will reconsider their offer.

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