Full question:
I live at the end of a street thst is not listed as a dead end but the end of the street is the embankment of a dike that has the Allegany river on the other side. I have parked at the end of the 'street' for 45 years and my car was just backed into by a sand truck (the police found out after investigation)in the middle of the night. My trunk was crushed and the back windows' glass 'blew out'. I went to the village public works department anticipating that their insurance would cover the damages. They say that it is a street and technically I was parked illegally on the street and they are not accountable. They have been plowing and sanding this 'street' for years with 3-4 cars here at a time throughout the years. We have never been asked to move or make other parking arrangements. Does this seem right?
- Category: Automobiles
- Date:
- State: New York
Answer:
Insurance policies often exclude coverage for damages to illegally parked vehicles. Whether you can recover damages will depend on the terms of your insurance policy and principles of contract law. In tort law, auto accidents are governed by negligence principles. To establish negligence, you must show that the other party had a duty to act with care, that they breached this duty, and that their carelessness caused foreseeable harm to you.
If you are partly at fault for the damages, your recovery may be reduced under comparative negligence or barred under contributory negligence. When an accident involves an illegally parked car, the defendant may argue that the improper parking caused the accident. A key element of a negligence claim is proving that the harm was foreseeable. If it can be shown that the driver knew your car was illegally parked for a long time, this could affect the foreseeability aspect or raise issues of contributory or comparative negligence for not having the car reported for towing. Ultimately, the court will determine liability based on the specific facts and circumstances of the case.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.