Claiming from council for damage to car

suffolk04_2

What is the right way and chance's of winning a claim against a council?

I parked my car on a street near my work place, checked on it on my lunch break, and a tree had snapped and collapsed on my car.
I have taken pictures of the tree on my car, and where it snapped, and have got a witness (tree and car outside her house) who seen the tree fall and the damage it caused, but no sure if i have a decent case or not.
To be fair, there wasn't much damaged, passenger door handle snapped off,dent in the same door,electric aerial bent and not working, scratches and a chip on the back quarter thats gone down to the metal.

Any ideas or opinions would be very helpful

nearlyrich

Are the council responsible for this tree and has it been pruned appropriately? Possibly your best hope is claiming on your car insurance if the council have done all they can to ensure the tree was safe.

Careful_with_that_Axe

Try to speak to the Tree Officer at the local Council (may be Parks and Open Spaces Department). They should be able to give you an idea of their tree maintenance schedule and whether this had been identified as a tree with potential problems that had not been dealt with.
I can only see you being successful if they were aware that the tree had inherent defects where dropping limbs was a possible problem and they had not addressed these problems in a timely fashion.

suffolk04_2

Careful_with_that_Axe wrote: »

Try to speak to the Tree Officer at the local Council (may be Parks and Open Spaces Department). They should be able to give you an idea of their tree maintenance schedule and whether this had been identified as a tree with potential problems that had not been dealt with.
I can only see you being successful if they were aware that the tree had inherent defects where dropping limbs was a possible problem and they had not addressed these problems in a timely fashion.

surely if they were aware of the defects of the tree it should of bee removed or some sort of support put around it?

WhiteHorse

You have to prove (1) that the Council is responsible, and (2) they have failed to discharge that responsibility. Unless very obvious, the best route is probably to claim on your car insurance, although this may mess up your no-claims.

suffolk04_2

thats the problem, only fire and theft, so insurance wont cover, just thought that people can sometimes win the pot hole war, but never heard damage from a tree on the pavement

WhiteHorse

There have been tree damage cases. If the car insurance won't cover it, it's worth a shot. Initiate preliminary enquiries with the Council. Try to get some admissions - only tell them later that there is the possibility of a small claims court action.

withabix

It has been very windy. Exceptionally so for the time of year.

It has also been very dry.

Chances of council coughing up: negligible

3rd party fire & theft insurance is your risk. Get fully comp insurance next time?

(and don't park under trees?)

thepeterleeknowledge

did you include the motor legal protection on your policy if so give them a call and ask them to chase it up. it provides you with cover to recover any expenses that have left you out of pocket following a non-fault claim now even though this will more than likely be taken as a fault claim by your insurer it is an obligation of the company underwriting your mlp package to provide you with least some advice in relation to any pending claim.

suffolk04_2

rang the council up, told me sending some forms out to fill in with pictures,witnesses etc. Told me to get reciepts or any parts and/or quotes for any repair work that needs carrying out, so maybe they will look into it, or just leading me on for a laugh

chanz4

they will pass it to zurich their insurance for most councils, trust me they will fob you off. make you wait 3 months to reject it to