Car Dealership Returned Car With Water Damage And Mold Resulting In Severe Illness. Insurance Deems Car A Total Loss.

Heya, any advice you can provide on this situation is much appreciated.

Location: Washington State

Following routine service to replace the brakes, rotors, and tires, a car dealership returned my vehicle with water damage and mold in the cabin and trunk. They had the car for 2 weeks because they also had to fix a dent they caused and parked it outside under a tree - leaves and dirt got into the trunk and clogged the drainage system, and during rain storms there was water intrusion and visible mold growth. Exposure to the mold caused physical illness (migraines/severe fatigue and weakness/irregular heartbeat/chest pain/difficulty breathing/starting to pass out upon standing up) requiring multiple doctor’s visits and a trip to the ER. I have been diagnosed with a Primary Immunodeficiency (immunocompromised), Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and mold allergy which was exacerbated by this exposure. I was so sick I had to wait until my heart felt strong enough to get out of my chair, stand up, and quickly microwave a meal before sitting back down. It’s all I could manage.

I have dashcam footage of the dealership denting my door while it was at the dealership. The dealership offered to fix the dent for free and to do free mold remediation, which I agreed to, but they returned my car with soaked carpets verified by moisture meter readings and visible mold. The dealership is withholding itemized service records for the failed mold remediation and previous service visits. A lab analyzed a sample collected from the car after the first mold remediation and the results came back very high for a couple strains of mold.

I also have dashcam footage of an employee smoking a cigarette in front of my car in the maintenance bay while it was undergoing the first mold remediation, as well as footage of an employee losing his patience and yelling while driving my car, and another saying how much he hated my car because of its size :(

The dealership also billed me for new tires while installing a dirty set of the wrong brand tires with mismatched DOT date codes. They also failed to install the brakes correctly twice - after the first attempt the brake light started coming on, and after the second attempt the brakes started squeaking.

After the failed mold remediation attempt I asked the dealership if they could provide a loaner vehicle. They refused and stated I needed to bring my car in for a diagnostic before they’d consider giving me a loaner. A loaner vehicle was not in my car insurance’s policy, so I rented a vehicle at my expense for 6 months while my vehicle was unable to be driven.

My car insurance required that I pay for a second mold remediation which failed and further impacted my health. Insurance then required that I find a mechanic to assess the car for electrical and water damage at my expense, but after calling 7 shops I could not find anyone in the area able to do so. After 6 months of back and forth with the insurance telling them this car will never be safe for me to drive and asking them to total it, independent IAQ testing, and a strongly worded letter from my immunologist (“life-threatening” was used), my insurance has deemed the vehicle a total loss and is offering a payout for the value of the car, the second mold remediation, and independent IAQ testing. They will not pay for the 6 months rental vehicle expenses. I was mostly housebound prior to this incident and unable to work (just discovered I’ve been living in a home with water damage and mold), and became bedbound for weeks due to the exposure to the moldy car while sorting all of this out with insurance.

I ultimately want to hold the dealership accountable. If I were to accept my insurance’s payout and hand over the title and car to them, would this impact my ability to sue the dealership for treble damages? If I don’t accept insurance’s payout and pursue legal action against the dealership, what do I do with the car? It’s currently rotting in my garage. What kind of lawyer should I be looking for?

Thanks for reading and have a great day