Can't seem to keep my windshields from getting damaged: "Who Pays?" Edition

Well, it's storming here, badly.

SWMBO has the Cherokee at work. She always parks in the same place every day, at the far end of the lot, nearest to the street. (Works at a Baskin Robbins in a small strip mall thing.)

The paint shop next door to their store recently left, and there's a vacancy in the building. The building owners put up a "For Lease" sign by the road to advertise. BIG sign.

And now.... in the storm, it's blown over on top of the Cherokee.

Cracked windshield, bent mirror, couple paint scrapes, and a new dent in the door.

Through insurance, this is going to cost a minimum of $500 to fix, and i didn't exactly have a great experience with the el-cheapo windshield replacement last time, so i'd be springing additional money for Mopar moulding.

Sooooo.... does the building owner have to pay this, legally? SWMBO already asked her boss, and he said she could try to call the owner, but that she rarely does anything about scenarios like this. I find this rather unacceptable, but i'm also not entirely sure if there's anything i can do about it. The cost to repair this through our car insurance will represent just about an entire paycheck of hers, which isn't real convenient considering she didn't get paid for the 3 week vacation we just took. 5 total weeks without pay is pretty E36 M3ty.

I'm thinking your car insurance company will be going after the building owner's insurance company. May be wise to start thinking about a lawyer, though, just in case.

I'd prefer to not involve my car insurance company if possible... the Jeep was a catalytic converter theft target earlier this year, and there's a possibility i may have to submit a windshield claim to them for the Miata as well.

But if i gotta do it, i gotta do it. How long should i wait for a response from the Property Owner before lawyering up? Should i get an appraisal myself right away?

I'm no expert, but I would sat that you sbould atleast call your insurance agent.

Have you called the number on the "For Lease" sign? Did you take pics as soon as it happened? I wouldn't sit on this one very long. Give the guy the opportunity to do the right thing, but do it ASAMFP.

A call to your insurance company wouldn't hurt either. "You guys deal with this every day. What do you think I should do?" kinda thing.

HappyAndy wrote: I'm no expert, but I would sat that you sbould atleast call your insurance agent.

Yeah, i'll give them a call when i have the truck in front of me later today.

poopshovel wrote: Have you called the number on the "For Lease" sign? Did you take pics as soon as it happened? I wouldn't sit on this one very long. Give the guy the opportunity to do the right thing, but do it ASAMFP. A call to your insurance company wouldn't hurt either. "You guys deal with this every day. What do you think I should do?" kinda thing.

Yes she called the number on the for lease sign, and we've got pics.

Swank Force One wrote:

poopshovel wrote: Have you called the number on the "For Lease" sign? Did you take pics as soon as it happened? I wouldn't sit on this one very long. Give the guy the opportunity to do the right thing, but do it ASAMFP. A call to your insurance company wouldn't hurt either. "You guys deal with this every day. What do you think I should do?" kinda thing.

Yes she called the number on the for lease sign, and we've got pics.

I'm assuming that means no call back? I'd leave another message and let them know your next call will be to an attorney...and then call an attorney.

It's Saturday... the number is to the building owner directly. If we don't hear from them by EOD Monday, then we'll escalate.

Local manager called back. Said that either the owner (lives out of state) would be responsible, or FastSigns would be responsible.

So... that's something, at least.

I worked for a sign company that did a lot of commercial real estate signage. It's the sign company's responsibility to install the sign in a safe manner. They're the ones to go after. FastSigns is a franchise, so if you don't get traction at the local shop, go to corporate. They have a strong incentive to protect their name since that's their main product. If they don't get right, threaten to Hennesy Homda Sucks.

In reply to ultraclyde:

Nothing seems to get businesses these days moving faster to fix their mistakes than some nasty commentary on their facebook/twitter page.

In the event you get screwed around, new glass for that thing is probably under $200 and an hour of your time to DIY.

It should be glued in.

I can't keep a windshield in my wife's F-150 or my 250 for more than 6 months or so, the rocks just fly right in for some reason.

It's cheaper for me to do it myself than pay the deductible.

Eh if I get jerked around then it's lawyer time. I'm not paying a dime to fix this.

Textbook comprehensive claim. Is your deductible five hundred ?

OHSCrifle wrote: Textbook comprehensive claim. Is your deductible five hundred ?

$250.

But I'm not ok with paying a dime for an improperly secured sign just because swmbo had to work that day. The storm was not that bad, and turns out that the store owner next door had requested that the sign be re-secured the day before as well.

Comprehensive claim would have been when the cat was stolen off the same vehicle earlier this year.

I wouldn't bother with a lawyer. You probably won't find one to take your case, unless you pay them a lot of money (more than you'd pay just to let your insurance company handle it).

As for who's liable, more info is needed to know for sure. Several possible scenarios. Who put the sign in? The owner or property manager? If the sign came from Fast Signs, I'd doubt they installed it. If they did, were they hired by the property manager to do so? What did that contract say?

My gut instinct, from having dealt with hundreds of claims just like this, is that the property owner/manager installed the sign. You'll want to find out who their general liability insurance carrier is and file the claim through them. They'll then investigate the claim. If they determine the sign was installed incorrectly, they'll pay. If it was installed correctly and very high winds took it out, then they'll deny. But that would be my first avenue of pursuit. Let me know if you need any other info.

Klayfish wrote: I wouldn't bother with a lawyer. You probably won't find one to take your case, unless you pay them a lot of money (more than you'd pay just to let your insurance company handle it). As for who's liable, more info is needed to know for sure. Several possible scenarios. Who put the sign in? The owner or property manager? If the sign came from Fast Signs, I'd doubt they installed it. If they did, were they hired by the property manager to do so? What did that contract say? My gut instinct, from having dealt with hundreds of claims just like this, is that the property owner/manager installed the sign. You'll want to find out who their general liability insurance carrier is and file the claim through them. They'll then investigate the claim. If they determine the sign was installed incorrectly, they'll pay. If it was installed correctly and very high winds took it out, then they'll deny. But that would be my first avenue of pursuit. Let me know if you need any other info.

Don't know who put the sign in yet... This is why we called the property owner.

Appreciate the help!

+1 to Klayfish.

Find out who installed the sign and file a general liability claim. Go further based on the results of that.

A lawyer will take your claim but only if you pay them hourly for dealing with it. They are generally not interested in property damage claims unless it is a VERY large loss. Like much larger than a vehicle.

The only property losses I have dealt with an attorney on in the last five years is a $500k + property damage claim to an office building.

Got the first quote today of $1100. Appointment for another on wednesday morning that will probably be higher.

Dumb question, but how do I file a general liability claim with the sign people?

I'd really start with the property owner/manager. It's very likely they are responsible for the sign, even if they hired a sign company to make it (or possibly install it). A lot of that will depend on the contract langue between the two. Regardless, the property manager is where I'd start. Just call them and ask for the name of their general liability carrier and policy number. Call the carrier and file a claim.

Cool thanks! We're calling the property manager with the damage estimate later today (He wanted to know, probably to relay info to the owner, who is out of state.).

Turns out the first estimate wasn't complete. $1600 is final total from the first place. Second place will be more expensive.

I appreciate everyone's help!

Property owner actually just got ahold of us, and said to call her when we get the second estimate. She's been playing phone tag with Fast Signs since yesterday morning when she was contacted by the property manager.

So... at first glance, this should go pretty smoothly.

In reply to Swank Force One:

Andd.... the lady at Fast Signs is a pain in the ass.