Damage to my car, California
Posted on : 10-25-2009 | By : Legal Information | In : Car Accident
Tags: california car accident, California Property damage
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A large tree branch fell on top of my car and damaged the roof (bent roof). Police was present and there is a police report describing the incident and my car’s damage was noted in the report; according to the police there were two other large branches that needed to be cut immediately from the same tree for safety, so the tree was basically ill-maintained. The estimate for repair to my car is about $5,500 (the roof needs to be replaced; about half is labor & the other half is parts). my car is a Mercedes ML320 (SUV) and has about 130,000 miles and is worth about $9600. I am taking my case to a ’small claims court’ in San Francisco because despite several attempts to contact the company that owns the tree, no response. I am asking $6000 for damage. Do you think they will give me this money? Do you think they will maybe salvage the car (because cost of repair is over 50% of the present value?)…The court is this Monday, I appreciate your input.
It depends on why the branch fell and if you are suing the right party. If the business owner is leasing property they do not own the tree and may not be responsible for maintaining the tree. However, they may be partly to blame if they knew the tree was a hazzard and failed to report it to the landlord.
Also, many trees along sidewalks and buildings may look like part of the property but could actually belong to the city.
I think you situation is largely dependent upon why the tree branch fell. If the tree was decaying or dying, and the property owner knew this and ignored the problem, and it snapped for no reason (i.e., high winds, heavy rain, or ice buildup), they are probably liable.
Be sure to take pictures of the tree and any trees in the immediate vicinity that might show disease, or lack of being properly maintained.
If the business was operating from a private home, homeowners insurance does not typically cover tree branches falling onto cars as a result of an act of God (i.e. a violent storm causes a healthy tree limb to snap and fall onto a car) but auto insurance might.
I think the key to whether or not you can be awarded compensation may revolve around proving the party you are suing actually owns the tree, and knew of a problem (or potential problem) that was ignored.
It could be reasonably argued that police officers are not horticulturalists or tree experts and therefore, are not qualified to state that other limbs need to be cut for safety. The police report observations may not be as much help in proving your case as you might think.
Please note that I am not an attorney, but have done paralegal work for more than six years.