- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Eastern Eye Staff
It can be a nightmare if your car unexpectedly breaks down or meets with an accident. You will need to call for a tow truck. If your car suffers damage due to the negligence of the tow truck company, you could be looking at a steep repair bill. In such a case, you may want to determine if the tow truck company’s carelessness, unprofessionalism, or negligence caused the accident and whether you can claim compensation.
How to Claim Compensation for Car Damage by a Tow Truck
The tow truck company may admit responsibility for the damage and willingly settle the repair costs in many cases. You can also prefer a claim with your insurance company if your policy covers collision damage by a tow truck. If the repairs are expensive and your insurance company disputes your claim, you can file a claim with the court of law with the assistance of an experienced auto accident attorney. In all cases, you must arm yourself with all the documentation, photographs of the damage and the accident, and names and contact details of any eyewitnesses. Additionally, you will require an estimate of the repair cost from a reputed workshop, observes an auto accident lawyer at Eric Ramos Law, PLLC. Follow the map
Responsibility and Typical Causes of Towing Truck Damage to Vehicles
To hold the tow company responsible for the damage, you must prove it was careless, unprofessional, or reckless. You can prove such liability better if you can show that the tow truck company used the wrong equipment, used it incorrectly, used defective or ill-maintained equipment, miscalculated the weight and size of the vehicle, drove recklessly, misjudged clearances and turns, or caused an accident by any means. As in other cases of vehicle accidents, you must document the evidence in as much detail as possible, including photos from various angles of the damage to your car, names, and contacts of the driver and employees of the towing company you had interacted with, and an assessment of the damage by a professional surveyor.
Typical Types of Car Damage Due to Towing Trucks
You can suffer various types of damage when the towing truck driver makes errors of judgment or drives unprofessionally. The most common type of damage is bumper damage due to improper positioning of the winch hook and not making allowance for the bumper material. Towing can also damage the transmission if the car is in drive mode. Towing the rear with the front wheels resting on the ground can also result in the axle hitting the ground and sustaining damage. Other common types of damage include broken windshields, broken lights, dents in the body, cuts in the tire, and wheel misalignment.
Conclusion
You may wish to file a legal case with the help of an experienced auto accident lawyer to claim suitable compensation if you are confident the damage is the result of the negligence and unprofessionalism of the towing truck company and the insurance company disputes your claim. According to Forbes, the insurance company may settle out of court to avoid the expense and effort of a court trial.
