I had an older mid-70’s antique car that my father purchased brand new. He had that car since I was a child and I remember being in the car with him, going to the beach, etc.

Anyways, he died last November from Lou Gherig’s disease. I inhereted the car. I took it to a garage in the spring to get it looked at and a repair shop did close to $3k worth of work on the car, including replacing all the fuel lines from the gas tank to the engine.

The last time I drove it, (two weeks after the repair work) the car actually stalled 200 yards from my house and caught fire. My wife and I are OK but it took minutes for the car to be completelyin flames.

The insurance will cover the cost of the car but that doesn’t replace THAT car. I wanted THAT car, it was THAT car that I sat in with my dad going to the beach as a child. I had plans to keep it for years.

Do I have more recourse above the cost of the car? It’s kind of like losing photo albums, they have intrinsic value.
I’m not trying to make a quick buck. My dad died six months ago and this was the best heirloom I had. The car is irreplaceable and burned to the ground because of poor repair work on the fuel lines. I am completely distraught over the loss of this car. Ten seconds before it lit on fire I was telling my wife how excited I was to be in the car and how I felt when I was driving the car I was with my dad. I just think its bullshit to collect the value of the car and that’s it. I can’t go out and buy the same car. It’s irreplaceable. I just watched my dad take his last breath and now I just watched his prized car, which I was so excited to drive with my kids, burn to the ground in front of my eyes.

You cannot sue for suffering as you suffered no actualy physical discomfort, just an emotional experience.