Legal Question in Product Liability in New York
Property Damage by Cement Contractors
My car was parked outside my apartment complex, while there was construction going on across the street. I noticed that there was something on the hood of the car so I asked my husband what it was; he thought that it was dirt. We went on vacation for a week and a half and when we came back we didn't wash the car right away because it was raining. This past weekend the weather was a little better so we decided to go and get the car washed. The attendant at the car wash told my husband that the stuff on the car that he thought was dirt was actually cement. My husband immediately called the contractors that were working on the building across the street to let them know of the situation. He was told by the contractors that because we waited ''so long'' to tell them that they are not responsible(It has been about three weeks). Being that we were on vacation we were unable to get in touch with them earlier. The question that I have is how do we go about getting them to pay for the damages. The cement is all over the car. There are big ''globs'' of cement on the roof of the car which we didn't even notice until we tried to open our sunroof! Thanks
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Timely Notice to Insurer
This is not a products liability question.
However, if you have collision insurance you should immediately report this to both your insuance company and file a police report.
Having wet cement dropped on your car to dry,is similar to having hard, dry cement collide with your car, and if it causes damage it should be covered. Let your insurance company sue the contractor.
But be aware that there are requirements for "timely" notice to insurers. The insurer might attempt to disclaim if you wait or go into the whole story.
If you don't have fire, theft and collision, get two repair estimates, or do the repairs first, and sue them in small claims court. This is a case of simple negligence resulting in property damage.
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