CFI wrecked my trailer. They don’t want to pay for it

A CFI driver ran into my trailer when I was in a service plaza on I-76 in Ohio just before the PA border. He had got himself stuck on my trailer and was going back and forth trying to get unstuck when a witness stopped him and made him come inside to find the owner. Here are a few pics of what I found when I got out there.

It’s not a lot of damage, but I was told the parts would take at least 4 weeks to be shipped due to back orders and technically it’s oversized due to how far the bumper is pushed back beyond the rest of the rear of the trailer.

I asked CFI to cover the cost to repair the trailer, my lost revenue for the first 8 days following the accident, and a trailer rental for 4 weeks.

They wouldn’t even cover the trailer damage. They said I’d have to go through my insurance and let them submit the claim to CFI. I did go through my insurance for that, but I don’t have any policy that covers downtime or trailer rentals, so my insurance told me I’d need to collect the money for that directly from CFI.

I emailed them about this and I didn’t receive a response for 5 days. I still haven’t got a response. Then I called them and they transferred me to a line that didn’t have voicemail and no one answered after ringing for 10 min.

It seems like they’re hoping I’ll just give up and forget about it. Any of y’all have experience with a mega carrier damaging your equipment and not cooperating following the accident? What options do I have at this point? I have a witness statement in addition to the photos.

The total dollar amount involved is so low that it’s hard to justify an attorney, but I’m still considering that as an option.

Thanks in advance for any advice and / or feedback.

 

He had turned around in front of my truck and was circling back around to get to the exit I think. He managed to work his tractor around quite a bit from the position it was in when he first made contact. Not sure how many times he ran back and forth to get it into that position, but it would’ve been a lot less damage if he’d just stopped. You’re right, no excuse. There was about 10 football fields worth of open space at the time of the accident.

 

When I filed the claim with my insurance they said my premiums shouldn’t go up, but if they do, I’d just need to show them that it was a “no fault” accident and they would reduce premiums to their prior rate.

 

It’s still ongoing. I don’t have my trailer back. Haven’t paid another insurance premium payment, so I’m not sure yet.

I’ll let you know if it goes up or stays the same, and if they drop it back down to it’s prior price if I have to call them.