The car has long ceased to be a luxury item. Moreover, as a means of transportation, it is often so necessary that in the event of an unforeseen situation, a person becomes completely helpless. Therefore, the consequences of any accident should be eliminated as soon as possible. In particular, a lot of time during the restoration of the “iron horse” will save knowledge of what to do if a tree, pole, icicle or billboard fell on the car. Unfortunately, this is not such a rare accident as it might seem. But, for the first time faced with the fall of something on the car, the owners are often lost and begin to panic. Not worth it: the chances of resolving the situation in your favor are quite large.
If a tree fell on a car, who is to blame?
Citizens sometimes naively think that everything except the buildings around them is common. So, ownerless. However, this is fundamentally wrong opinion. Either organization or legal entity is responsible for each tree, billboard or power pole. In some cases, you have to deal with private traders. And if your property was damaged due to the negligence of the owner, he is obliged to answer financially for the damage.
The difficulty is to find out exactly who is to blame in front of you. And it can be DEZ, and HOA, and housing department, and the owner of the parking lot, and the municipal branch of the city. So get ready for a long trial and bureaucratic red tape.
The easiest way to get out of the situation is if you have a full hull. In this case, the insurance company will be looking for the extreme ones, and it has much more opportunities and experience for this than a private person. But even in the absence of insurance (or the presence of incomplete insurance), one should not give up prematurely if a tree falls on a car. What to do, we will tell, and then everything will depend on your perseverance and perseverance.
Call the service
The main thing that should be remembered by the car owner, whose property was damaged: he should not touch anything, clean or move the car before the arrival of competent persons. Even if you blocked the exit from the parking lot or slowed down the traffic on a busy street, set a “triangle”, turn on the emergency light and do not move.
And now about where to call if a tree fell on a car. Choosing the right number depends on the circumstances under which the incident occurred. If you were driving a car at this time, type the traffic police. If the car was parked, call the police.
In addition, having an insurance policy, call your company representative. Or at least tell her office what happened. Many insurers require a car inspection by their expert.
If a tree falls on the roof of a car parked in an official parking lot, insist that its management arrive. Moreover, if parking near a supermarket, restaurant or park, the head of this institution is responsible for it.
If the accident happened in the courtyard of an apartment building, you need district engineering services. In the capital, their contacts are posted on the official website of the Moscow IP. Other big cities also have similar pages.
Initial action
Just wait for those called up - wasting time. Moreover, they will rush by no means in a quarter of an hour. There is no time to sit back, there is still a whole list of what to do if a tree fell on a car.
Look for people who saw the incident. The more of them, the better. Do not hesitate, many will agree to testify: the driving fraternity comes into effect. Most likely, people will not be able to wait, but they will give you their contact details, and then they will tell the competent people about the incident in paints.
Take pictures, and that’s all: a car from different angles, a tree with a capture of identification landmarks (address plates, a noticeable building, etc.), trunk breakage - and that part that crashed onto the car, and the one that remained in the form of a hemp. The latter are needed so that, if necessary, dendrologists from the images can identify the cause of the broken tree.
Attention, design!
Both the police and the traffic police know what to do if a tree falls on a car. However, it would be nice to be in the know too. If a road patrol arrives, he draws up a standard protocol on road accidents, only the culprit indicates the tree. If the police deal with you, she draws up a protocol plus an inspection report. In any case, read all documents carefully before signing. They should list all damage caused by the machine. Moreover, insist on making clarifications about probable hidden damages, so that later, after their identification, they should be repaired at the expense of the culprit. It is also good to write in the protocol a mention of the presence of photographs (video recordings) of the place of events and available witnesses. This will greatly simplify the proceedings with the involvement of experienced lawyers by the adversary.
Collecting evidence
The next thing to do if a tree fell on a car is to turn to an independent examination to assess the condition of the car and the cost of repairs. It is better to use the services of a company that knows all the details. The expert will set a date for the inspection. It should also be attended by an employee of the IS IP or the owner of the territory on which everything happened. The specialist is presented with only the injured car, a fallen tree, of course, you do not need to carry it with you. After assessing the damage, the expert will calculate the approximate cost of the restoration of the machine. It is better to take a couple of copies from the report and notarize them.
Immediately after compiling the protocols and in parallel with the identification of the culprit (usually everyone denies), a competent step will be to request the weather service from the weather report on the day of the incident. Moreover, it is necessary to take the answer in printed form and with appropriate stamps, so as not to listen to tales from the defendant about hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes afterwards.
When ships cannot be avoided
In 70 percent of cases when the incident concerns individuals or legal entities, if all documents and evidence are available, the perpetrator compensates the damage. However, situations are not uncommon when the owner of the territory does not consider himself guilty of the fact that a tree fell on his site on a car. Judicial practice shows that the claims of victims are most often satisfied. In this case, the costs of the meeting are also borne by the defendant. If your claim is not satisfied, then you have to pay. And note: you need to submit it early. If you are ignored for more than a month, go to court.
It is impossible to do without a court even in the case when compensation is required to be paid by the State Intellectual Property Office. An application for compensation should be written here as soon as you establish that the malfunction of your losses is the municipality.
In what cases are you to blame yourself
If you at one time were anxious to insure your car against all misfortunes, immediately carefully read the policy. Falling on the roof or hood of a tree can be attributed to various risks. One of them is a natural disaster, the second is the fall of foreign objects. Ideally, you should indicate both. If there is only one, the company may classify your episode in a different risk category.
If you intend to receive compensation from the owner of the tree, you will be left without compensation if the circumstances are recognized as force majeure. A strong wind, recognized by the meteorological center as a storm, refers precisely to those, in which case the car will have to be reanimated on its own.
You will be left without compensation even if the car was parked in places not intended for parking. And under such circumstances, the insurance company will also refuse the money - you have violated the terms of the contract.
Subtleties to know
If a tree falls, which was not accompanied by injuries and especially death of people, the examination will be carried out at your expense. Costs may later be included in the machine repair bill. If someone was injured, a criminal case will be opened and the inspection will be carried out by the police.
Please note that if repairs require an amount in excess of half the current value of the car, then it is considered unprofitable. And then the insurer or the culprit is obliged to pay the full price of the car (of course, taking into account depreciation). You cease to be the owner of the affected car.
How not to get hit
In order not to think what to do if a tree fell on a car, it is better to constantly observe elementary vigilance. They promise a strong wind (more than 13.9 m / s) - put the "iron horse" in open areas, away from trees and buildings (a brick or an icicle may also fly from the roof). Do not park next to old trees (especially for willows and poplars, which become fragile and hollow inside with age), and your car will serve faithfully for more than a decade.