who has the liability???

[R4LLI4RT]

ok so i took my car to work and parked it in a marked parking bay belonging to my company under some trees.
the trees are on another companies property, a branch broke and dinted my bonnet.
my company said not our tree not our problem.
the other company said we deny it happened because you dont have the branch that fell on it and you shouldnt of parked under it.

can any1 help me with this. i dont think i should have to pay for this.

[jordan.fuchs]

Sorry mate, I don't think you have a chance of getting anyone to pay for this, a branch falling on your car is considered an act of god.
Unless you could prove that the tree was poorly maintained then you may have a case but good luck proving that.

[R4LLI4RT]

the tree is about 35 meters high and has not been maintained
would it be an act of god if it fell on a human?

[jordan.fuchs]

Yes, unfortunately.
As I said, unless you can prove negligence on the other company's part, you don't have a case. It sucks, it really does, but is it worth the amount of time and money you could spend chasing money from the other company to pay damages (and quite possibly lose)?

My recommendation would be grit your teeth and just pay the repair bill. As I said mate, it really does suck.

[himynameisdaniel]

I'm not a lawyer..
But most places take no responsibility. I believe there is a carpark act or public carparking act that they all hide behind.

or they will claim some sort of force majeure and it would be difficult to get anything without solid evidence.

good luck if you decide to take this through the courts.

[billyboy]

That sux to hear, I generally don't park under tree's for that reason plus all the sap & bird crap!

I'd push the point with the company that is responsible for the trees. I had a boom gate here at work come down on my car unexpectantly & contacted building management about the it left dent in my roof!

Of course hey claimed no responsibility to damages to vehicles in the car park, blah, blah blah. I arced up & said no way this was my fault & it was their equipment at fault as I used it correctly.

They then backed down & cut me a cheque to pay for the repairs out of 'good will'.

I don't know how bad your dent is but if no paint has been removed then can get out a paintless dent removal guy to pop it out like new.

[jordan.fuchs]

Your example is different billy, it refers to faulty equipment, in your scenario, the company is 100% liable as you used their equipment correctly (I'm assuming).

[jordan.fuchs]

Ryan, I'm an athiest too, so don't think I'm trying to christian up this site.
Act of God doesn't literally refer to a mystical man in the sky saying "hehehe I wanna put dents in cars". Act of God refers to something that is out of control of man, hurricane's, earthquakes, trees falling, etc.

[billyboy]

^ Well initially the were claiming jack all responsibility & told me the boom gate was fine...

My swipe card made the beep sound & I told them to check the logs as I didn't do a dodge & tailgate someone.

All you can do is try at the end of the day, be professional & courteous in your argument. Worked for me!

[R4LLI4RT]

i was thinking of taking this to my insurance company and asking them for assistance.

i think it sucks because if it was a human and they died im sure the courts would be happy to rip some1 a new bum hole, but because its just a car every1 has the 'who gives a crap' attitude

[jordan.fuchs]

I'd speak to your insurance company and see what they say, won't cost anything

[R4LLI4RT]

yeah i just sent them an email.
been with em for 3 years now so hopefully they can atleast give me some info.

[bunnishiwa]

Re insurance depends on your cover and excess as to whether it is worth it. If your excess is not to high and you have claim protection then go for it, else just pony up the cash for the repair

FYI - dunno where in Melbourne you are but I can highly recommend Navarone Accident Repair in Clayton for an awesome repair job and awesome customer service if they are not too far from you