What are my rights if I was driving through a restaurant parking lot after it had been raining and hit a huge pothole?

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What are my rights if I was driving through a restaurant parking lot after it had been raining and hit a huge pothole?

The road looked level. I did not know until the day after I had to have my car towed to a mechanic, that the transmission tray had been so badly bent that all of the transmission fluid and drained out andIi had to have a new transmission installed. I called the restaurant that morning, and several days in a row, trying to speak to a manager to report the incident. I finally went into the store and spoke to him. He informed me that 2 weeks prior to this, a couple hit the same pothole and someone actually bit her tongue off. They had not repaired the road, marked it off, or put signs up.

Asked on April 29, 2014 under Accident Law, Texas

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

It would be advisable to contact the restaurant to obtain the name, address and telephone number of its insurance carrier.  File a claim for the property damage (cost of repairs) to your car with the restaurant's insurance carrier. If you rented a car while your car was being repaired, the cost of the rental car should also be included in your claim.

If the case is settled with the restaurant's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.

If the case is NOT settled with the restaurant's insurance carrier, file a lawsuit for negligence against the restaurant.  Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the cost of repairs (property damage) to your car and as mentioned above the cost of a rental car while your car was being repaired.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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