Anyone in the legal department?

[phil.™]

Any of the IBIS community in the legal department, or works with business insurance? I need some advice.
Last month, there was a delivery truck that drove his 18 wheeler into my work sign, which bent it and cracked/broke my sign and inside lights.
I received an estimate from my sign company, they said they cannot bend back the pole because it will damage it more, so they would have to replace to whole pole (re-cement and everything) and replace the sign box.

The estimate came to $11,800 and some change, and the company that hit my sign just called me and said they can only issue me a check for $847.00 because there were already "previous" damages to the pole. Which I call bull shit, because, yes there is previous scratches and rust, but damn they fuck bent my pole.

Is there anything I can do to get the full amount? Or am I shit out of luck on this one?

280839_254706377889034_2137638_o.jpg - this is my shop from last spring, pole is straight (although you can see some rust and stuff)
Store Front.JPG - from the damn company that hit it. Clearly bent.
IMG_2512.JPG - this is the damaged sign

Any advice? If they do not pay up, is this something I could take to court?

[acolyte_to_jippity]

1) it doesn't look too bad, other than the actual sign portion needing to be fixed. like, the 'bend' really doesn't look all that major. but, if the sign company says the whole thing needs to be replaced...

2) it kinda depends about the court thing. This would be considered a tort, and the laws around those are a bit odd. I think potentially you might be able to take them to court, maybe. i would definately look for a lawyer to talk to though.

[ZERO]

Their insurance company should be covering this. Can you not have your insurance company call theirs. Is there a police report for the accident?

[Omegxkid]

1> when is the last time you had any pics of the pole before it was hit, If it is within 35 days and there is a time stamp on that u can use that as part of the case to over come what they are saying. 2. like zero said if you call your company and let them know they are pulling you around and ( if you do have a pic of it within 35 days they can use that to force them to give the full sum because u have evidence of how it was before it was dmg ) this will foce the other company to pay or end up in court.. 3.The company you are with can also do what is called a business clam to there law office and take it from there how ever this can take any were from 1-12 months to push so just letting you know it may take time bro but if this happens not only will u get the money to fix the sign but they will have to pay you for all money losses if any occer due to the sign not being up I.E if you made 11k as a company last month and this month till it is fixed u only make 4-8k your comapnys office can clame this as well due to the lack of the sign to gide people into said area. I hope this is alittle help i took law 102 and 103 in school so if you need something let me know ( also u can find alot of this out on google now days hahaha so sad) anyways that sux bro and GL

[Nemesis]

You can't not get it fixed, if anything further happens to this sign (it falls, someone its it again and it falls on their car) it's on you. Second, you should be able to get a copy of the police report. In this it will hopefully list the damage his vehicle caused.

It will be easier to go after the individual driver than the company in this case, as the company can afford to waste more of your time in court. Best bet would be to go after this guy civilly, as you don't need as much evidence and proof as you do for criminal court. There's a chance that his company could settle with you before it even goes to court.

Your best bet is to sit down with your lawyer and hash out your plan of attack. It's hard to tell you exactly what to do as I don't know what kind of company this is but your lawyer will, and he'll be able to tell you where it's best to focus your efforts.

[acolyte_to_jippity]

You can't not get it fixed, if anything further happens to this sign (it falls, someone its it again and it falls on their car) it's on you. Second, you should be able to get a copy of the police report. In this it will hopefully list the damage his vehicle caused.

It will be easier to go after the individual driver than the company in this case, as the company can afford to waste more of your time in court. Best bet would be to go after this guy civilly, as you don't need as much evidence and proof as you do for criminal court. There's a chance that his company could settle with you before it even goes to court.

Your best bet is to sit down with your lawyer and hash out your plan of attack. It's hard to tell you exactly what to do as I don't know what kind of company this is but your lawyer will, and he'll be able to tell you where it's best to focus your efforts.

i'd bring both the company and the driver in. the company might be liable depending on the circumstances of everything.

[Pilot]

I remember learning something back in college, that if a company driver gets into an accident while on company time, the company is responsible... Not the driver himself.

Granted, this was at least 5 years ago, and it was an aviation law class and we didn't get into real specifics or exceptions (I don't think)... And dammit I'm a pilot, not a lawyer!

[acolyte_to_jippity]

I remember learning something back in college, that if a company driver gets into an accident while on company time, the company is responsible... Not the driver himself.

Granted, this was at least 5 years ago, and it was an aviation law class and we didn't get into real specifics or exceptions (I don't think)... And dammit I'm a pilot, not a lawyer!

it depends.

1) was it on the expected course? yes - company. no - maybe not company
2) was deviation major? yes - if driver had begun to return to expected route, then company. otherwise, driver.
3) small deviation? if the stop could be anticipated - company. else - driver.

basically, if this was on his expected route, then company. otherwise, probably not.

this would be a tort for negligence and damages.

[phil.™]

Thanks for all your advice! It's been a fucking headache the past 2 days now. From the sounds of it, the company that hit it wanted to go through their insurance, but once the insurance company saw pictures of the damaged sign/pole, they said they will not cover the pole (because of already existing damages) and told the company to take care of just the sign, which is the $847. So most likely or not, i'm going to take this to court. This is bullshit because the use of a lift truck and installation if $650.00 alone, how the hell do they think the sign, material and labor will be $200. Ughhh idiots.