Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

AAA responsibility

We called AAA with a disabled car (serious gas line leak). We asked to be towed to a repair center. The tow truck driver cut a piece of the gas line off, reattached it and said it was fine. Charged us for a AAA call. Three blocks away the car burst into flames. No one was hurt. Car is now totaled and we had to call AAA again to now have it towed home. Do we have any recourse to damages when the car would be okay if it had been towed to the repair center instead of an attempted repair by the tow truck driver?


Asked on 7/30/06, 11:48 am

3 Answers from Attorneys
Matthew Mickelson Law Offices of Matthew C. Mickelson

Re: AAA responsibility

You may have recourse against AAA for its tow driver's failure to properly repair the fuel leak. Damages would be the value of the car; if that value is small, then small claims court is probably your best option. If it is larger, then feel free to contact me to discuss this.

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Answered on 8/02/06, 1:15 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: AAA responsibility

If you can prove what you say, sure, you should make a claim against the tow truck company and driver, also AAA. Depending upon the value of the car, you may want to hire an attorney for this. Contact me if interested.

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Answered on 8/02/06, 6:04 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: AAA responsibility

Assuming that the driver's actions were negligent, that they caused the fire and that such an outcome was reasonably foreseeable then you have recourse.

You most likely are entitled to damages from the driver and the tow truck operator (the AAA owns few -- if any -- tow trucks and usually hires contractors for such work). I would need to know more before I could say whether you are entitled to recover from the AAA.

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Answered on 8/01/06, 9:48 pm


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