Who is to blame?

Sarahk8464

Hi,
My mam lives opposite a school car park where they have a sign that says the gates will be shut at 17:30. It has been really windy lately and the school bin rolled out of the school gates overnight as the gates were not locked shut and hit my mams car and has put a big dent in the car door. The school are saying it is not their fault, but we have said surely it is due to the gates being left open all night and the bins not being put away correctly - the bins have now been out away everyday since but the school are saying their insurance said it's not their fault and now we don't know know what else to do about this.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks
Sarah

keithdc

Sarahk8464 wrote: »

Hi,
My mam lives opposite a school car park where they have a sign that says the gates will be shut at 17:30. It has been really windy lately and the school bin rolled out of the school gates overnight as the gates were not locked shut and hit my mams car and has put a big dent in the car door. The school are saying it is not their fault, but we have said surely it is due to the gates being left open all night and the bins not being put away correctly - the bins have now been out away everyday since but the school are saying their insurance said it's not their fault and now we don't know know what else to do about this.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks
Sarah

It is probably God's fault.

The sign regarding gate shutting sounds like a warning to car owners regarding parking rather than a commitment to the community.

Sarahk8464

The school is on the opposite side of the road so the bin has had to travel some distance before it hit the car - just thought if the gates had been shut like the school claim that they do then it wouldn't have happened. Just a bit gutted for my mam that's all

forgotmyname

And if you mam did park opposite it would not have happened either. Why did she park opposite?

Risk assessment failure?

Has she contacted her insurance and made a claim?

z1a

Gods .

loskie

if a large wheeled bin it should have had the brake applied, it's the school's fault and you should claim from their insurance.

Or task your insurer to do so unfortunately may end in increased premiums.

giraffe69

I wouldn't take the school's denial very seriously. They have a responsibility for securing their bins. If the parking spot opposite the gates was legal then what is the problem using it?

unholyangel

The gates are irrelevant. As someone else said, its to do with parking /keeping people out rather than about keeping bins in.

The brake is the only argument I can see. I assume also this was a "freak" storm and not an ordinary storm and was not publicised?

In a negligence claim there are several steps you need to satisfy. Those are:
1) That they owed you a duty of care
2) That they were in breach of that duty
3) That the breach caused the loss
4) That the loss was not too remote

Now part 1 is pretty simple - you owe a duty of care to your neighbour. With your neighbour basically being anyone you can foresee as being impacted by your acts or omissions.

2 they need to have been negligent - that is, they need to fall below the standard of a reasonable person.

3 the "but for" test is usually applied - would the damage still have occurred if not for the negligent act/omission. If yes then they are not liable because the damage was not the result of their negligence.

4 the type of damage itself needs to be foreseeable. If the type of damage is foreseeable then they are liable even if the extent of the damage was not foreseeable.


The point I would definitely make to them is that this type of damage is so undoubtedly foreseeable, that the manufacturers chose to add the feature of a brake which can be easily applied. The schools failure to secure them is their negligent act.

EdGasketTheSecond

I successfully took a community centre to court after I hit one of their bins in the road; I think your 'mam' has grounds to cliam from the school's insurance or to sue the school for damage.

debtdebt

Sue the school.

If you don't know how to, hire a solicitor.

Alternatively, claim from your insurer and they may sue the school for recovery of their outlay.

The bin company might be at fault too for failing to put the bins away properly or putting the brakes on there wheels.

Car_54

debtdebt wrote: »

Sue the school.

If you don't know how to, hire a solicitor.

Alternatively, claim from your insurer and they may sue the school for recovery of their outlay.

The bin company might be at fault too for failing to put the bins away properly or putting the brakes on there wheels.

How much damage? It's unlikely to be worth the expense of a solicitor.


Start with a firm but polite letter to the school pointing out that it is their responsibility and suggesting they refer it to their insurers. While you wait for their response, you can research "money claim online" on the internet for your next steps.