If a gate in a parking lot was not secured and ended up in traffic, if I hit it is it my fault?
Question Details:
I entered the restraunt parking lot at night. Slowly drove around it (because it was full) and when I rounded a corner something hit my car. It happened to be a gate. (The gate is a gray horizontally swinging metal arm). It hit the roof of my car above the windshield (why I didn't see it) and scratched the whole roof causing $1400 in damages. The gate was newly installed and had no locking mechanism to keep it out of traffic. The restraunt's insurance said that they would pay 20% because it is a stationary object. What are my chances in court?
It's probably not worth challenging. If the damage was $1,400 and you are offered 20%, or $280, there's $1,120 at stake. To sue effectively, you'd probably need a lawyer and also some "expert" witness--someone who could help show that the gate would tend to fall into traffic/onto cars. The costs of a suit could easily meet or exceed the amount you'd recover.
That's not to say that you shouldn't push back, tell the insurer you're so outraged you're considering suing (which is true), etc. If you can get them to come up somewhat, that'd be a win. Just as a general matter, suing for little over $1,000 is rarely worth it, except in the most straightforward cases where you can go to small claims court.
You should also check out your policy and see what the dispute resolution or appeals process is, and whether that may be worth pursuing.
Your chances in court depend on whether a judge will be convinced that the restaurant was at least as much to blame for carelessness as you were.
The insurance company is looking to get out of this as cheaply as possible. They're offering 20% because you're not a lawyer, would be my guess. An offer like that to an attorney would say, we think we've got a better than even chance of winning. But if they think they have that good a case, and you don't have a lawyer, they probably don't make any offer at all.
How are you going to prove that the gate was lose and moving? How good are you at speaking in public?
You can do this in small claims court with or without an attorney. Your chances are better with an attorney. You will need good documentation and you will have to prove your case. This is not a big case to the insurance company so once you file they may be more willing to settle. I would be happy to speak to you about this in more detail. I handle these kinds of cases a lot.
