I have a legal question relating to an insurance matter. Can anyone help steer me in the right direction?

 
Please read at least the brief details before commenting.

BRIEF: A piece fell off my son’s car on the freeway, and a woman claimed it damaged her car. The insurance company is paying her claim even though there was virtually no perceptible damage. We want to contest this.

MODERATELY DETAILED: A piece of the plastic bumper fell off the back of my son’s car while he was driving on the freeway. He had repaired it once with hot glue. A woman pursued him and waved him over. She said her car had hit it, and she showed him the damage, which he perceived as the very familiar sight of a smudge of hot glue. She took his information, and soon afterward the insurance company notified me (he is on my policy) that there was a case.

I called the agent and asked for more information. He was sympathetic but not very helpful. That was less than a week ago. Yesterday’s mail brought a determination from the ins. co. that my son was at fault, that the damage amounted to $1000, and that we may be penalized for this.

I have my son’s written account and considerably more detail available.

*COMMENTS: The woman’s manner was practiced, confident, even aggressive. She wore a tailored business suit. My son took her name but did not have the presence of mind to take any pictures. He’s never been in such a situation before. He said all he saw was a scuff mark that probably could have been wiped off with a cloth.

I looked her up later. She is an attorney who runs her own law firm, specializing in immigration law.

He doesn’t contest her story that her car struck the lost piece. However, he neither heard nor felt the lightweight plastic apron fall off the rear of the car.

For what it’s worth, we have insured our various cars with this company since 1986 and never filed a claim or had one filed against us.

QUESTION: If we believe that there was no more damage than a smudge and certainly nothing warranting a payout of $1000, I think it’s worth filing an appeal. But before I do, I want to understand our position, possible outcomes, and what’s the worst that could happen. I’d like to consult a lawyer, but I don’t want to get caught up in some sort of sleazy money-grabbing lawsuit. I’m not looking for any money. I just don’t want to be penaized for a false or unsupportable claim.

How should I pursue this?