The accident occurred on 5-8-99 and involved my 1986 GMC pick-up truck that was parked across from a 20/20 Recycling Center that my company has allowed to do business on the property. Between 8:00-9:00am a truck that picks up the glass from the 20/20 Recycling Center had a hydraulic hose break on a crane that lifts the glass holding bins and dumps them into the truck for transport back to the main facility.
The ruptured hose discharged a LARGE amount of hydraulic fluid directly onto my vehicle. The hydraulic fluid covered 90% of the painted finish on the vehicle; it also penetrated the engine compartment, air vents, and window openings on the doors.
The driver Thad Ellis personally apologized for the accident and called his supervisor (Mike Roach) to report the accident, and to allow me to talk to him concerning the matter. Mike was EXTREEMLY rude to me on the phone and seemed more concerned with delays that the accident will cause him and the 20/20 Recycling Company, than the damage to my vehicle and my concerns regarding the matter!! I discussed the matter with him and at first he wanted me to be responsible for the clean up of the hydraulic fluid from my vehicle. I stated to him I was at work, and I could not just stop working to wash my truck and told him to send someone out to clean the hydraulic fluid from my vehicle. He then reluctantly agreed to do so.
At approximately 1:00pm (4-5 hours after the accident) a flatbed truck from the 20/20 Recycling Company arrived with an employee that was sent to do the clean up on my vehicle. He and Thad Ellis then washed my vehicle once without the proper containment for the runoff of the hydraulic fluid and the wastewater involved with it, but it did not remove all of the hydraulic fluid. I asked them to wash it one more time, and to do the best that they could do.
I then gave Thad Ellis one of my cards with my home phone number, and asked him to have his supervisor Mike Roach to contact me at work or at home concerning my satisfaction with the clean up of my vehicle, he stated he would do so. (I received NO contact from the 20/20 Recycling Company)
After getting no response from the 20/20 Recycling Company, I discussed the mater with my store manager Mark R. Dreiling on 5-10-99; he stated he would contact 20/20 Recycling and have someone contact me concerning the matter. Approximately 1 hour later I spoke to Albert Unger from the 20/20 Recycling Company, and he informed me that he would have Mike Roach contact me the next day concerning the matter. (Once again NO contact from 20/20 Recycling)
Finally, after getting the runaround from 20/20 recycling, I was finally contacted on 5-22-99 by an insurance representative (Alma Cervantes) from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, who left a message on my answering machine at home.
On 5-24-99 I sent Alma Cervantes a reply via fax, and she returned a reply via e-mail.
After exchanging a few e-mails, we had a verbal discussion via the telephone at work, and we had verbally agreed to a complete paint job to repair the damage to the paint on my vehicle. She stated for me to get an estimate for the repairs and to fax it to her and she would send me a check for the repairs and compensation for a rental vehicle while my truck was in the shop. I stated that my schedule was extremely busy at that time and I did not have the time to go get an estimate, so she agreed to send an appraiser out to estimate the cost of the repairs.
Approximately a week later Steve Aguilera from West Coast Appraisers inspected my vehicle in the parking lot at my work, but never contacted me while he was there and just left a business card on the window of my vehicle.
On 6-16-99 I received a check and an estimate of repairs to my vehicle that I had NEVER AUTHORIZED. The check and the estimate was for a detailing job, not a complete paint job that myself and Alma Cervantes had originally agreed upon.
On 6-16-99 I sent Alma Cervantes an e-mail concerning the matter that I received NO response from.
On 6-23-99 I sent Joe L. Sinnette (President & C.E.O.) of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company a Certified letter explaining my EXTREEM dissatisfaction with my claim and the way it was handled by his claim representative Alma Cervantes. Joe L. Sinnette then forwarded the letter to C. Timothy Bittner for him to send a response to me.
On 7-7-99 I received a letter from C. Timothy Bitner stating that they were not going to compensate me for a complete paint job, unless the detail job didn’t repair the pre loss condition of my vehicle.
