Opinions on who is at fault

[dominicsmommy]

Hope this is in the right place....

OK, so today Dominic (5 yr son) and I went out to the store. On our way there as we were driving I hear a loud noise that scared me half to death. I look over to my left as I am driving and notice my window has been struck by a rock.....I look further and see landscapers with lawn mowers and weed whackers. So unable to turn around at that point I drive further and turn around and go back.
I tell the men that they threw a rock that broke my window (it did not shatter but you can see where the rock hit and the glass has splintered from there). My window was half way down, thank goodness the rock didn't come into the car and hit my son or me. Anyway, one of the men come and look at my window and try to call their boss. He does not answer the phone. He tells me the boss will cover it cost of the window since it was an accident. Well I call my husband and he also comes to the scene.
Finally the boss calls back and comes to the scene as well and starts acting like perhaps I had a busted window and I am trying to pin it on them. Uh no, so then he says well it may not be my fault it may be the church's fault (who they are mowing for) because the rock was from there side walk and they (the church) have not fixed the broken side walk.
After calling the police as well to get it written in a report we left with the boss telling us to get 3 estimates and we would go from there....
So who do you guys think, the church or the landscapers?

[cheynesnana]

I think the landscapers...

[mom2lucas]

The landscapers. Their machinery caused the rock to hit your window, so I would think it would be their fault.

[everprincess]

Not sure about this but shouldn't they be insured for stuff like this. If not they could be in some serious trouble. With that said it's the landscapers fault and they should pay.

[cpaige]

I would think that both could possibly be at fault. The church for not fixing a broken sidewalk ( I believe that could be a town violation) and the landscapers for being careless and not moving the rock.

Good luck. Keep us posted!

[sns4063]

What did the police report say? And what part of the sidewalk was broken? In my city, the sidewalk is the responsibility of the city to maintain. I've had my car hit with debris on the highway, who is at fault? When I'm behind a truck hauling rock down the road, they have signs on their trucks saying they aren't responsible for broken windshields, as they warn to stay away from being directly behind them. In your case, it's an accident, with nobody really "at fault". You may end up having to just pay out of pocket. Having a small chip repaired is relatively cheap....and frankly, not worth the hassle of dealing with insurance.

[Spanelli8706]

Something similar happened to me. I was driving by a public golfcourse and a stray golfball flew into my windshield. It cracked the windshield and was something large enough that needed to be repaired. I have no idea which golfers the ball belonged to and the golf course couldn't be held responsible. I contacted my insurance and they repaired the windshield for free. Thankfully it wasn't too complicated for me. Hope you figure things out.

[JulieDB]

I really don't know.

A couple of years ago I was driving by a park when I heard a loud noise. I saw some teens on the sidewalk. I did not see them throw anything but that doesn't mean they didn't.

I inspected for damage when I got home and it was obvious that something very hard and sharp hit the top of the hood, very close to the windshield. Had it come any closer it could have hit me!

I never did figure out what hit the van or where it came from. So I did nothing. My husband was very angry.

I should think if you didn't see who did it you might have a hard time proving anything.

[CW&M Mom]

I'm going to vote landscaper...but my sis works for the insurance business...so in the morning I'll ask her.

[dominicsmommy]

What did the police report say? And what part of the sidewalk was broken? In my city, the sidewalk is the responsibility of the city to maintain. I've had my car hit with debris on the highway, who is at fault? When I'm behind a truck hauling rock down the road, they have signs on their trucks saying they aren't responsible for broken windshields, as they warn to stay away from being directly behind them. In your case, it's an accident, with nobody really "at fault". You may end up having to just pay out of pocket. Having a small chip repaired is relatively cheap....and frankly, not worth the hassle of dealing with insurance.

I don't have the report yet, have to pick it up. The officer seemed to think it was one of the 2 at fault, the church for not repairing the sidewalk or the landscaper, but she was not sure.

The sidewalk was just really old looking you know like bits of stone every where and dented from wear I suppose. Plus I am sure it didn't help with all the rain we got from Irene. The church sits on an elevated ground so it is very possible that the rocks from the sidewalk (next to the street) ran into the grass strip they were working on.

The break is not small really, it has to be replaced because it has spidered so bad from the dent in the window where it hit.

All the repair shops say it is really lucky since it is the side window that it didn't just shatter. The glass in those is much different than the front window.....
Oh the landscaper boss also said maybe another car kicked up the rock as I was driving by but that is not the case either. This was in a 25 mph zone and the repair shop is saying that no car going that speed could have the power to break a side window.

Anyway I will keep you guys posted as I find out more