Filing against the city?

[blinkidybah.livejournal.com]

Hi guys -- hope everyone's enjoying Snopocalpyse part two. Due to the storm, a city owned tree in front of our house just fell on my car.







So while I called 311 and the DPW is supposedly coming out to get rid of the limb, the girl on the phone was pretty evasive when I asked about filing any damages to the car against the city. The only thing I can find on the website is this, which honestly is not going to work for me because I can't leave a busted and nonworking car in front of my house for 30 days waiting around.

Because I've only got liability insurance, my insurance company pretty much told me I was on my own for this whole process.

My question for YOU lovely people is: when city offices (hopefully) reopen tomorrow, who should I be calling?

Comments

[smammy]

Isn't this an act of nature? Should'a bought comprehensive. ;)

[blinkidybah.livejournal.com]

Would have if I could afford it.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I didn't have comprehensive for several years. When I switched to Progressive Direct, I added it, since it was so cheap -- about $60 a year for a 10-year-old car in an urban neighborhood.

Of course, I wouldn't get very much money after the deductible, but it's better than nothing. And there's no deductible for glass, so I'd get a free repair if someone smashes a window or a rock cracks the windshield.

[808.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Comprehensive has *always* been worth it for me. It's usually very cheap and the glass replacement alone pays for it. I seem to always be cracking windows and failing inspections...

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

the glass thing is key. i get chips and cracks in my windshield all the time here. now that i'm technically back in RI, we don't have that and i'm just crossing my fingers :(

[emannths.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if the tree was healthy, you're probably SOL. Make sure to document the condition of the limb that fell so that you can make the argument that is was dead/rotting/etc.

[gothic-hamlet.livejournal.com]

Thing is, our landlady has petitioned the city multiple times to have the tree removed all together because of the sheer size and potential danger of the branches (the one that fell on the car is easily 15 feet long). I'm not sure if the tree was rotting, but would the ignored requests help our case in any way?

I'm the OP's roommate and my car was damaged by the same tree, although not nearly to the same extent.

[emannths.livejournal.com]

Can't hurt. Definitely include this in the claim, with as much documentation from your landlady as possible. Ask the city for records of the inspection of the tree.

It seems like everyone here realizes that there's not a lot of certainty with a situation like this, and that the city generally isn't liable for damage from a healthy tree. So build the strongest case you can that shows that the city should have done something about it and hope for the best.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Have you checked for dents/scratches? See my post below, since there's lots of snow it might have done the "pillow" thing and your car might not be as bad off as you first think. Good luck, and I hope there's no damage, and this is one story you'll be telling the grandkids someday!

[gothic-hamlet.livejournal.com]

Her car unfortunately we still can't tell without moving the huge hunk o tree. Mine though got its bumper and tail light ripped through from where the trunk hit on the way down.

On a (positive?) note though, based on the advice above we took a second look at the tree where the break is, and it's definitely covered in dry rot. So we'll throw that into the city report as well.

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

Take photos!

[klingonlandlady.livejournal.com]

From the photo already posted it looks like the limb was rotten inside where it broke off. Take detail shots!

[emannths.livejournal.com]

I think the process is this:

1) Get it towed to a shop that will do the repairs or give you an estimate.
2) File a claim using the link you provided.
3) Hope it gets paid.

You might as well do (1) immediately, because you need an estimate to file a claim against the city. And, as you say, you probably don't want a busted-up car in front of your house.

[ron_newman]

What street is this on?

[blinkidybah.livejournal.com]

Ten Hills! It's still out there if anyone wants to marvel. I'm just hoping the rest of the tree doesn't come down too.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I almost hate to ask, but have you looked to see if your car is actually harmed? There's a heckuva lot of snow out there, and if it was deep enough when the limb fell, it might have acted like a pillow, and the damage might not be as bad as you might imagine. Make sure when DPW comes to remove the tree they don't do further damage to your car.

Good luck.

[blinkidybah.livejournal.com]

I guess if I'm SOL on any damages that's what I'll cross my fingers for.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

Wait until DPW leaves and blame their removal technique for the damage! Brilliant! Seriously how can you move a tree limb off a car without causing further damage. I don't think you can!

[fibro-witch.livejournal.com]

First off, the snow on the windshield and rear window is still in place. If either window had been shattered the snow would be in the car. I can't really tell from the picture, the windshield could be cracked but not shattered.

The remaining tree looks like it could be a case of dry rot. You mentioned that your land lord said she had asked the city to look at the tree as a hazard. Does she have that documented? Or did she just call it in? Documentation from her to the city and from the city to her, will be necessary to show the city knew the tree was a hazard. Oh and I think the mayor declared a state of emergency in Somerville, in which case you might be SOL.

You really should have gotten a full insurance package. Maybe skimped on something else. It might or might not be busted, I imagine it is still working. Do you have a local garage you take your car to? Once the city removes the tree see if you can drive the car, or get it towed to be repaired.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Document, document, document! If the tree has rot and there have been requests filed to have it removed, that's a point in your favor for sure. Take a kajillion photos.

So sorry this happened to you.

[eustaciavye.livejournal.com]

I second everyone who said document like crazy. This exact thing happened to my upstairs neighbor a few years ago. She had called the city a dozen times and told them there was a dangerous tree limb that needed to come down before the wind blew it off and crushed a car.... well that's exactly what happened. Because she had been warning the city for so long, they ended up having to pay.

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

I hope this turns out to be a xmasblizzardous miracle and your car is barely scratched! Let us know what happens?

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

so....be sure to post a followup. I, for one, am curious as to the results. Did they remove the branch? did you shovel out your vehicle? How badly damaged is it?

[blinkidybah.livejournal.com]

DOW did, in fact, come by at about eight o clock last night (those guys are TROOPERS, after the day I'm sure they had). The branch is gone and I managed to dig out part of the car -- some big circular cracks on the windshield and a dent in the front hood. I plan on finishing my excavations tonight, to see if it'll turn on - but things look optimistic so far!