Not Again! More Property Damage!

[Thundarstick]

Deep breath, got to rant a little.

I started a thread

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Ditch-Jumpers!

Well, it's already happened again! This time a car left the road about 50 yards from my property, hit the culvert, destroyed the front undercarriage of her car, then as it was swapping ends, took out EVERYTHING along the front of my property! Shrubs, mail box, large crepe myrtles, and a 25 year old oak tree over a distance of another 30 yards or so. Told the trooper she was only going about 45mph! I'm going to do something, just don't know what! How expensive is it to have a 30 foot tall oak tree replaced?

[Wayne Smith]

I think it's time to talk to the city/town government about some kind of legal barrier. Tell them they really don't want to wait until somebody kills themselves on that corner.

[toallmy]

Talk to her insurance company about the property damage ......

[dangitgriff]

Talk to her insurance company about the property damage ......

Exactly. Call them every day until their check arrives.
Every. Dang. Day.

[bedbugbilly]

Wayne says it all . . . you are suffering constant PD due to a municipal road that is either not "engineered" correctly in terms of a curve or other layout - and it may well be an original road from early times that just remained the same . . . but . . . the municipality needs to address the issue in some manner - ie. straighten out the curve, put barriers in place such as guard rails, etc. to prevent damage to surrounding property when a vehicle leaves "their" road. I can guarantee you that if it was your house that was being hit repeatedly, things would be different. Sometimes it's hard to fight city hall if you're the "little guy" but perhaps a well worded letter from an attorney to the municipality would push them to get off their chairs and get the DOT to do something about it.

Sorry to hear it happened again . . . I take it the woman was not hurt so that is a good thing - but her insurance should certainly pay for full replacement and repairs.

[bikerbeans]

Ask the PD to pull her cell phone records. More than likely she was talking on her phone.

BB

[jsizemore]

Sand trap from the right of way. Berm the back side so it doubles as a berm for shooting practice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVRuwnClU8c

[RED BEAR]

Replacing an oak tree that size is not going to be cheap. I will agree that her insurance is libel but be prepared to have to go to court. And if it exceeds the limits of her insurance coverage you may have to go after her for the rest.

[472x1B/A]

Pictures DON'T lie! Just as I said in your last thread. Take as many pictures as it takes to convince a lawyer that you are NOT making this up. Can't see how an insurance company can weasel out on a claim if there is 30-50, or more pictures for proof.

I work at a grain elevator here in Illinois. We have over 300 pictures of EVERY pipe, bin, conveyor, auger, etc. for insurance purposes.

[lefty o]

definately go after her insurance. tree's are worth big bucks, as they are part of your property value. id be talking with the city/county who ever is responsible for the road about putting up a barrier.

[RED BEAR]

The insurance company may know they are libel but may still stall. Thinking most people will complain but few will sue. Had a couple refuse to settle when they were clearly libel. Settled outside courtroom waiting for case to be called. But if i had not shown that i was actually willing to see a court case through wouldn't have gotten a dime.

[JimB..]

Lots of pictures for sure.

Talk to the agent for your property insurance company. They may pay the claim and remediate with the drivers insurance. IMHO people spend way too much time and energy fighting a company that doesn’t represent them, better to let your insurance handle it.

Be careful with the city or county, their solution to the problem may well include taking 40+ feet of your property.

[Thundarstick]

It's a state road, in the county, no city involved at all. I will for sure be contacting the state DOT about this issue again! I'm also contacting my local state representative and see if he bring any pressure. If this fails I may have to do some heavy duty property decoration.

[Conditor22]

IF her insurance company tries to stall you, have YOUR insurance company get involved. They might have to cover the damage if her insurance doesn't

[Goatwhiskers]

Here's an idea. There is a "T" intersection in a town near me with a house directly across the main drag from the leg of the "T". Across the front yard from one corner to the other is ten 8" steel pipes set 4' in concrete with ship anchor chain looped from pipe to pipe. NO ONE has ever hit the house. Might be worth a try. GW

[Wag]

Make sure they value the tree properly. If it's valued for lumber production, it's worth a lot more. A LOT more.

--Wag--

[Minerat]

Trees that size are not easily moved or replaced you may have to settle for loss of use value, be sure you claim its protection value too. If you can get the press involved the better pressure you will have. Call the head of your states DOT and their Division Engineer's office for your area too. Squeaky wheel gets grease! Good luck!

[JimB..]

It's a state road, in the county, no city involved at all. I will for sure be contacting the state DOT about this issue again! I'm also contacting my local state representative and see if he bring any pressure. If this fails I may have to do some heavy duty property decoration.

Sorry, my post was incomplete. State DOT may also just expand their easement and take your property. Sure you can fight about it, but hard to argue that it’s a problem and then that you don’t want them to fix it.

I’d just deal with insurance.

[toallmy]

The sand trap sounds like a good idea for future problems .

[bpatterson84]

This is an insurance claim for sure.