Wrecked & Repaired?You Have Diminished Value.
Your vehicle can be repaired perfectly and still be worth thousands less, solely because of its accident history. We are a law firm that handles one thing: recovering that loss from the insurance carrier. Serving Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
The Hidden Loss
Clean paint. Permanent record.
Diminished value is the loss in your vehicle’s resale value that exists only because it was in a collision and repaired. The body shop can return the panels to factory gaps and the color can match perfectly. The reported accident stays attached to the VIN, and the market prices it accordingly.
- The stigma of an accident. Buyers who see a reported collision move on or ask for a discount, even when the repair was excellent.
- Permanent scars under the paint. Filler, pinhole welds, hammer dimples, and heat-affected zones are still there after the finish is perfect.
- Dealers lower the trade-in offer. Wholesale buyers price accident history into the number before they ever drive the car.
- Newer and higher-value vehicles lose the most dollars. A low-mileage luxury, performance, or specialty vehicle can carry a four or five figure gap.
Four Questions
Do you likely have a claim?
Most viable diminished value claims share the same profile. If these describe your situation, it is worth having us look at it.
01
Is the vehicle under roughly 100,000 miles?
02
Was the accident not your fault?
03
Is the vehicle less than about seven years old?
04
Did an insurance company pay for the repairs?
Answered yes to all four? Your claim is worth a closer look.
Our Practice
Diminished value, start to finish
One practice area, handled completely. We do not bolt diminished value onto a general injury practice, and we do not stop at handing you a report.
Diminished Value Claim Evaluation
We review the vehicle, the mileage, the repair estimate, and the reported history to tell you honestly whether there is a recoverable loss and roughly what it looks like.
Appraisal and Supporting Evidence
A number without support gets ignored. We assemble credible valuation work, repair documentation, and market comparables into a claim a carrier has to answer.
Insurance Carrier Communication
We deal with the adjuster so you do not have to. That includes the standard responses, the 17c formula arguments, and the claim that diminished value does not apply to you.
Negotiating the Payout
First offers on diminished value are frequently a fraction of the actual market gap. We negotiate against the evidence rather than against a capped formula.
Luxury, Performance and Specialty Vehicles
Newer, low-mileage, enthusiast, and higher-value trucks and SUVs carry the largest dollar losses. These claims need market evidence, not a generic percentage.
Legal Options When a Carrier Will Not Pay
If the carrier will not move, we advise on the additional legal options available in your state. That is the part a valuation service cannot do for you.
The Difference
A report is not a claim
Plenty of companies will sell you a diminished value figure. What happens next is the part that decides whether you actually get paid.
Appraisal Service
You get a number
- Produces a valuation report
- Hands the report back to you
- You contact the adjuster yourself
- You argue the 17c formula yourself
- No options if the carrier says no
Diminished Value Attorneys
You get representation
- Evaluates whether the claim is worth pursuing
- Develops valuation and supporting evidence
- Communicates with the insurance carrier directly
- Negotiates the payout on your behalf
- Advises on further legal options when necessary
How It Works
Five steps, minimal effort from you
Tell Us About the Vehicle
Year, make, model, mileage, and what happened. A few minutes online or one phone call.
We Evaluate the Claim
We review the repair record and the market to see whether a recoverable loss exists.
We Build the Evidence
Valuation work, repair documentation, and comparables assembled into a supported demand.
We Handle the Carrier
Presentation, follow-up, and negotiation with the adjuster, without you in the middle.
You Recover the Value
Resolution of the diminished value loss, with legal options discussed if the carrier refuses.
Why This Firm
Built because carriers kept saying no
After years of personal injury work, Chris Johnston kept meeting the same person: an owner whose car was repaired, whose value was gone, and who had been told by an adjuster that diminished value did not apply to them. That was not accurate, and it kept happening. So he built a practice that handles those claims properly and nothing else.
Insurance companies rarely volunteer that diminished value exists. We start every conversation by telling you whether it does in your case, and we say so plainly when it does not. Two identical trucks on the same lot can carry very different price tags, and the only difference is what the history report says.
Years of legal experience
Practice area, diminished value
States served
$0
Cost for a claim evaluation
Where We Work
Iowa. Minnesota. Wisconsin. Texas.
Each market has its own direct line. Diminished value rules and carrier behavior vary by state, so ask about yours specifically.
Minneapolis & St. Paul
Diminished value claims across the Twin Cities metro and surrounding Minnesota communities.
Milwaukee & Madison
Representing Wisconsin drivers whose repaired vehicles lost market value after a collision.
Dallas–Fort Worth
Serving Dallas, Tarrant, and Collin counties, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco, and McKinney.
Client Feedback
What clients say
★★★★★
“Best lawyer ever, he made good settlements for us, he exceeded our expectations. I advise anybody to use his service because he know what he is doing.”
Tarek
★★★★★
“Highly recommend Chris Johnston! Was easy to work with, straight forward, capable to take on any challenge, and an excellent communicator!”
Wendy
The Attorneys
Who handles your claim
Chris Johnston
Attorney
Chris Johnston manages the diminished value claims practice. He has over twenty-five years of legal experience, primarily in personal injury. Over the years he saw, time and again, people whose cars were damaged in a crash and repaired, only to be told incorrectly by insurance companies that they did not have a diminished value claim. Frustrated with the lack of candor from carriers, he built a practice devoted entirely to diminished value.
Chris Martineau
Attorney
Chris Martineau is a trial attorney with more than two decades of experience, handling cases ranging from small claims court up to catastrophic injury and death. He holds licensure in multiple states. Before becoming an attorney, he worked in the property claims department of a major insurance carrier, so he knows from the inside how adjusters evaluate and push back on diminished value claims. Whether the carrier is arguing the 17c formula or a policy exclusion, that background works in our clients’ favor.
Questions
Diminished value, answered
Resources
Reading for vehicle owners
Free Claim Evaluation
Tell us about your vehicle
A few details are enough for us to tell you whether there is a diminished value loss worth pursuing. If there is not, we will say so.
Iowa
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Texas
Prefer to talk it through? Call the line for your state, or email cjohnston@jmlegal.com.