Hail Damage: Who is Liable?

One other minor detail concerning liability. While acts of God are never cause for a liability issue the real liability comes into play when an individual, in this case the dealership, knew or should have known there was a storm forecast involving hail and should have taken prudent measures by safeguarding vehicles by moving them under cover. That, my friend, could open up the liability can of worms.

 

No dealership can move every vehicle they have under cover. If you leave the weather channel on all day we might as well put all of our cars in a permanent storage area and wrap them in bubble wrap. They don't have any liability. Maybe they should be a tornado proof building to store your car while it is being serviced? Because they should have known....come on, it is a storm that is no ones fault.

 

Let's clear something up. Toyota has no responsibility in this case. We are talking about an issue between a dealership and a customer involving an act of God.

 

Damn, that sucks! Why do you have to have a new tranny?

 

Here's how it should work, you pay the deductible for the rental and the dealership, which has insurance will have to make a claim for the damages to your vehicle through their insurance company. They pay 1 deductible so they should be making a claim for not just your vehicle but i'm sure the rest of the vehicles that were damaged that were in their possession.
Although it is an act of god, most all perils policies cover hail and unless it is listed as a specific exclusion on the insurance policy, the insurance company would have to pay.

 

It's been done:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_against_God

 

Don't bother with a lawyer.....Its ALL about "damages" for them Your insurance company WILL go after the dealership if they know they can.

A Lawyer will cost you plenty to file suit. . There are not enough damages for a lawyer to take a case like this on a contingency basis.

Lawyers are only the answer with high damage claims and not property damage. Many lawyers won't even handle the property damage part of a liability claim for an accident. They are seeking damages above and beyond ACTUAL damages to get paid from...

 

Legally, the dealer is not liable for the hail damage to the truck. The dealer did nothing wrong and had no reasonable way to protect the truck from the damage.

Morally, the dealer is not liable for the hail damage to the truck. Assuming that the OP would have parked the truck in the same spot that he parked the rental car, the truck would have received hail damage anyway. The OP did not protect the rental from hail damage, so how can he expect the dealer to have a greater responsibility to protect his truck than he had to protect the rental?

Legally, I'm not sure about the responsibility for the hail damage to the rental. What does the rental contract say about damage to the vehicle due to acts of God?

 

Kingfrog X2. Have you ever seen a TV ad for Hail Lawyers? He is right, they only handle injury claims and take 33% of the settlement.

 

50% if it goes to trial......

I know all too well.. A drunk hit my wife a few weeks ago and I am handling the Property portion with some of my liability attorneys "advice" (and a booklet on how to handle Property damage claims)

I would not have hired a lawyer at all if the other driver was not arrested on a DUI which presents a whole other damage assessment in South Called "punitive" that goes beyond medical and "Pain and suffering" and beyomd treble damages in many cases, which I have no experience negotiating and usually requires a suit to be filed. I DO want this guy and his insurance company punished. My wife could have been killed.

In the past I have settled minor low cost injury cases to my satisfaction without legal representation. The rule of thumb for PAS is 3X medical expenses 1/3 to the lawyer... SO I negotiate for that and settle for around the same and FULL Market replacement MARKET value for the property including diminished value and never had an issue. In the past I had medical that was $6000 I asked for 12K and settled for 10K over and above and it was done in months rather than years. They saved attorney fees and I got a tad more in far less time..

Most ambulance chasers won't even take a case with less than a couple few in medical expenses and none will take property damage cases except for a fee because there are no treble damage awards there only actual damages.

I despise slip and fall Trail lawyers who have the heaviest advertising...and would never use one of those. I found a lawyer through word of mouth .I find insurance companies CAN be fair IF you are not looking to hit the lottery and not being unreasonable with chiropractic fees, exaggerating current and future conditions, and and elongating medical expenses to "fatten" a case.

My experience has been great so far on the property damage side of things. No complaints. Still have not settled but everything is being paid for immediately, including a very expensive guitar that was messed up in the accident. No questions asked. I expect the liability issues will be resolved with the same good faith.