Equipment damage on commercial property

Just had a spindle assembly replaced on my 61" Skag STT which cost me around $261.00 This was caused by hitting a galvanized fence post that had been cut off leaving approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches exposed above the ground. The fence installer evidently left the exposed pipe all along the new fence. My question is since the commercial property owners have already been notified of this and have failed to correct the problem would they be liable for some of the cost of repair. Has anyone had any similar experiece damaging equipment on commercial property when the owners are aware of the problem? I do the property for $260.00 per cut which is about waht the repair cost me.

 

its part of doing business. if you want to continue with the commercial in the future, it would be unreasonable to ask them to pay. you have insurance, etc. to cover the costs. if you saw the posts previous to cutting the property, maybe you should have walked the area around the new fence or gone to management about a concern about the old posts sticking up. however, if you just went about your business as usual your just as much at fault. anytime the surroundings change, take alittle extra time to see the changes to prevent accidents. if you know the fencing company and the work was done real recently i would make a complaint to them about the damage to your equipment.

 

This my friend is why god gave us eyes, and commerical property maintenance insurance....

 

not to sound harsh, but if you knew the problem existed and youwent so far as to report it to the property manager, i probably would have checked the fence line before i began work. if you are like me $261.00 is nothing to take lightly. i do believe that the property management is partially at fault for not acting in a timely manner to correct a potential hazzard not only to your equipment but to life and limb as well. i would eat this one just to maintain a good working relationship with them. however would also tell them to correct this oversight asap.

 

Some good input so far.

The way I read this though is that "notice" was given, but not necessarily by Jay9437. Without the "notice" element you have no claim. Now, if Jay9437 provided the prior notice and/or knew the cut off fence post was there even if it was via somebody else's report to the property owner, then I say he's barred from making a claim because he contributed to his own damage by not avoiding that which he was aware of. That's how it would work in NC anyway. We're a contributory negligent State which means if you're 1% at fault you are barred.

I don't think $260.00 is worth an insurance claim though because if you file it your rates will probably increase & make the $260.00 seem like a bad idea. Save claims for big things.

 

shawn, you and i had a meeting iof the minds yesterday as far as lawyers were comcerned. your last post smelled a little to legal to me for just a layman. are you sure you didnt flunk our of law school ? maybe thats why you were a little harsh on the lawdogs yesterday. just funnin with ya buddy.

 

Here is a thread that is similar to the current one for those of you who want to further information on this topic.

Ever charge a customer for breaking equipment?

 

Lol! Naw man, no law schooling for me. I've been a litigation paralegal for 10 years though. I should have put that in my post. When I post on here trying to provide perspective on something like this I usually say I'm just a peon so people know where it's coming from. Forgot this time.

There are some fine attorneys out there. I've know quite a few scum buckets too though. Downright unethical types.

 

I feel free to mark such hazards with flourescent marking paint.
By the time the paint wears off I'm able to remember the obstacle.

I mowed an employee's break area (like a little park actually) that had five sets of horseshoe pegs. They used the steel regulation horseshoes. I think they competed at an amature level.
Anyway I was always finding horseshoes in the lawn. Sometimes the hard way because they were so difficult to see.
I got fed up one day and painted half of them flourescent orange and the other half luminescent green! They really looked gaudy.
The folks that used them actually THANKED me because it made the horseshoes easier for them to see too. So we were all happy!

Dave

 

That's a great idea. I plowed the same small low lying stump twice on one property before I got the idea!!! Could have used the fluorescent paint then that's for sure.