Insurance claim and legal action regarding broken car window (car rental, vehicle, auto)
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Earlier today when I was parked at a shopping center my car window was broken by a landscapping crew who were using lawnmowers and leaf blowers. One of my windows was completely shattered and glass was all over the car. How a landscapping crew manages to do this (they claim they could have blown a rock through the air) defeats me but now I'm left with a broken window.
The individuals directly involved were extremely rude to me even after damaging my property, though I eventually forced them to speak with their supervisor over the phone. It was not a typical situation since it wasn't an auto accident and it was a landscaping company not another driver on the road responsible for the damages. Faced with the possibility of driving without my passenger window and with rain on the forecast I demanded that they find someone to fix it immediately. The supervisor at the landscape company also tried to play games with me until I threatened to file an insurance claim (my agent is my friend and she is very good at what she does) and to contact a lawyer (I know several through connections) unless my window was repaired the same day, because I would hold them responsible for any rain damage to the interior of the car if it rained.
He claimed the car window company they dealt with didn't have any appointments today, so I repeated my threat to contact my insurance and my lawyer. Today is Wednesday and they said they didn't have any way to replace my window until next Monday so I was outraged. They did try to stop playing games after I brought up calling my lawyer and they agreed to come to my workplace and replace my car window there next Monday because I would also hold them accountable for lost wages if I had to miss work to take the car to the shop for several hours. And based on my pay they probably found it better to pay the window company extra for an out call vs reimburse me for lost wages at my work. They also had me drive the car out to the car window company where they put a temporary plastic tarp on the passenger window.
The thing is though that I still now feel uncomfortable driving the car all the way till Monday, especially since I commute on the Interstate and drive 70 mph in some spots. They also couldn't guarantee 100% that no rain would come into the car if the rain was heavy and there is rain forecast the next couple days. Now my friend told me I should go to my insurance company and file a claim and get a car rental, claiming I'm uncomfortable driving my vehicle with the damage the landscapers caused it and that I should be able to get the landscaping company to pay for my vehicle too. My friend knows of a similar case where the victim even got reimbursed for the gas money when he was forced to take his car in for repairs.
I'm wondering about the chances if I were to go ahead with demanding a rental car and forcing the landscaping company to pay for it until Monday. This may also force them to expedite repairing my window which once again they are responsible for breaking. Also, even more than the money, this is honestly about payback and revenge for me for the way I was treated by the landscaping company and the mall management. My insurance agent said they can file a claim but I would need to take the car into one of their shops to assess whether the car really is unsafe to drive with the window tarped up in plastic and I would have to take off work for this and there is no absolute guarantee the landscaping company will pay for lost pay in THIS situation though if my insurance claim is successful they can force the landscapers to pay for my car rental as well.
Even if my car can probably be safely driven in this condition, I do want for the landscaping company to pay for a rental as payback for what happened and for them refusing to find someone to fix my window until next Monday even though this is entirely their employees' fault. For me this is also about respect and how they treated me at first before I threatened legal action against them.
And the thing is that I was wronged in this situation as the victim and the landscaping company and the mall deserve to be held accountable and to pay for my inconvenice in addition to the direct damage. I also want the individual crew who broke my window to be held personally responsible, perhaps if their company had to pay out enough for this incident they will decide its not worth keeping these two men on staff anymore.
So do y'all think it would be a good chance to get an insurance claim started? What do y'all think of my chances of getting my insurance to approve a rental car and having the landscaper pay for it? If it was up to my insurance agent she would definitely approve the claim since we are friends but it must be handled by a higher office in the insurance company. If my insurance does approve the car rental I wonder if they definitely will be able to force the landscapers to pay up or if going through with calling a lawyer may be needed to get the landscapers to pay for the car rental. Again this even more about revenge against the individuals responsible for how they treated me than for the actual financial cost.
Last edited by Tom Lennox 70; 07-20-2017 at 12:14 AM..
The landscaping company has admitted guilt and is paying to have the window replaced, but I would also like to get a car rental and have it paid for by them too as a way to punish them for delaying my repairs for almost an entire week and for how rudely the two individuals directly responsible treated me after what happened. And if they're paying for my car rental maybe they will expedite fixing my car.
My car is currently at the dealer for replacement of the rear window. It went in on Monday but they needed the replacement window shipped in so I have a loaner in the meantime. Might have the car back tomorrow.
It could be that windshields are stock items as they are what are replaced most often. In my case the rear window was not stocked hence the wait. Could be the same issue for your side window.
I think you're VERY lucky they're owning up to the damage and getting it fixed and that time frame doesn't seem unreasonable.
Earlier today when I was parked at a shopping center my car window was broken by a landscapping crew who were using lawnmowers and leaf blowers. One of my windows was completely shattered and glass was all over the car. How a landscapping crew manages to do this (they claim they could have blown a rock through the air) defeats me but now I'm left with a broken window.
The individuals directly involved were extremely rude to me even after damaging my property, though I eventually forced them to speak with their supervisor over the phone. It was not a typical situation since it wasn't an auto accident and it was a landscaping company not another driver on the road responsible for the damages. Faced with the possibility of driving without my passenger window and with rain on the forecast I demanded that they find someone to fix it immediately. The supervisor at the landscape company also tried to play games with me until I threatened to file an insurance claim (my agent is my friend and she is very good at what she does) and to contact a lawyer (I know several through connections) unless my window was repaired the same day, because I would hold them responsible for any rain damage to the interior of the car if it rained.
He claimed the car window company they dealt with didn't have any appointments today, so I repeated my threat to contact my insurance and my lawyer. Today is Wednesday and they said they didn't have any way to replace my window until next Monday so I was outraged. They did try to stop playing games after I brought up calling my lawyer and they agreed to come to my workplace and replace my car window there next Monday because I would also hold them accountable for lost wages if I had to miss work to take the car to the shop for several hours. And based on my pay they probably found it better to pay the window company extra for an out call vs reimburse me for lost wages at my work. They also had me drive the car out to the car window company where they put a temporary plastic tarp on the passenger window.
The thing is though that I still now feel uncomfortable driving the car all the way till Monday, especially since I commute on the Interstate and drive 70 mph in some spots. They also couldn't guarantee 100% that no rain would come into the car if the rain was heavy and there is rain forecast the next couple days. Now my friend told me I should go to my insurance company and file a claim and get a car rental, claiming I'm uncomfortable driving my vehicle with the damage the landscapers caused it and that I should be able to get the landscaping company to pay for my vehicle too. My friend knows of a similar case where the victim even got reimbursed for the gas money when he was forced to take his car in for repairs.
I'm wondering about the chances if I were to go ahead with demanding a rental car and forcing the landscaping company to pay for it until Monday. This may also force them to expedite repairing my window which once again they are responsible for breaking. Also, even more than the money, this is honestly about payback and revenge for me for the way I was treated by the landscaping company and the mall management. My insurance agent said they can file a claim but I would need to take the car into one of their shops to assess whether the car really is unsafe to drive with the window tarped up in plastic and I would have to take off work for this and there is no absolute guarantee the landscaping company will pay for lost pay in THIS situation though if my insurance claim is successful they can force the landscapers to pay for my car rental as well.
Even if my car can probably be safely driven in this condition, I do want for the landscaping company to pay for a rental as payback for what happened and for them refusing to find someone to fix my window until next Monday even though this is entirely their employees' fault. For me this is also about respect and how they treated me at first before I threatened legal action against them.
And the thing is that I was wronged in this situation as the victim and the landscaping company and the mall deserve to be held accountable and to pay for my inconvenice in addition to the direct damage. I also want the individual crew who broke my window to be held personally responsible, perhaps if their company had to pay out enough for this incident they will decide its not worth keeping these two men on staff anymore.
So do y'all think it would be a good chance to get an insurance claim started? What do y'all think of my chances of getting my insurance to approve a rental car and having the landscaper pay for it? If it was up to my insurance agent she would definitely approve the claim since we are friends but it must be handled by a higher office in the insurance company. If my insurance does approve the car rental I wonder if they definitely will be able to force the landscapers to pay up or if going through with calling a lawyer may be needed to get the landscapers to pay for the car rental. Again this even more about revenge against the individuals responsible for how they treated me than for the actual financial cost.
The best advice I could give you is to calm down. Things like this happen in life.
You probably can't get a rental car because your vehicle is driveable. Certainly it would be with plastic in the window.
The time frame for fixing your window is reasonable. You can't expect everyone to drop everything they are doing to get your problem resolved immediately.
A lawyer would only take this case if you paid him by the hour--out of your pocket--to do it. An ethical lawyer wouldn't take it at all. Fixing your window by early next week is reasonable and there are no other damages in this case.
"Getting revenge" against people who make a mistake in life is not a reasonable use of your time or that of the legal system.
I'm wondering if you are young? In 57 years, I've had far worse things happened to me without getting so upset.
So do y'all think it would be a good chance to get an insurance claim started? What do y'all think of my chances of getting my insurance to approve a rental car and having the landscaper pay for it? If it was up to my insurance agent she would definitely approve the claim since we are friends but it must be handled by a higher office in the insurance company. If my insurance does approve the car rental I wonder if they definitely will be able to force the landscapers to pay up or if going through with calling a lawyer may be needed to get the landscapers to pay for the car rental. Again this even more about revenge against the individuals responsible for how they treated me than for the actual financial cost.
If there is anything less then 0% it would be it. A broken side window does not make a car undrivable. Even your own insurance would not offer you a rental in this situation if there were no responsible party.
Usually, glass is commonly available from major distribution hubs located all over the US. Odds are they are just stalling until next week so they can head over to the salvage yards and find a used piece to install. You may find out next week that they have no intention of fixing it. They may be stringing you along because of the idle threats. Unless you have their admission on tape, all you have is your claim it was them and they probably will have several workers who will say they had nothing to do with it. Be prepared that you may have to end up filing with your insurance company anyways and that it's unlikely (unless you have authoritative proof) that the landscaping company will be paying anything. Of course, they may come through with some glass.
I ALWAYS contact my insurance carrier immediately. They have been terrific about handling everything with the other party and meeting my needs. My rates have never been raised.
I have to say... if you are that concerned about waiting the week.. then you need to have your insurance company deal with it, get your window fixed and let them handle getting the money back from the landscaping company. In the time you have messed with trying to threaten them your window could have already been fixed. Sometimes putting honey on bread versus vinegar makes it go down a little better. What am I trying to say? Sometimes in life, we have to step back, breath in a little and deal with everything that comes to us in a more respectful way towards others. If you do.. it tends to get resolved a lot faster and better.
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