Can I sue the body shop for the cost of my tires?
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Can I sue the body shop for the cost of my tires?
I bought my car in July 2016. The previous owners had put new tires on it the month before and the car had about 48,000 miles on it. I was in an accident in January 2017. The passenger side wheels were damaged. I sent my car to a shop to have it fixed. Fast forward to March 2018. At this point, my car has about 63,000 miles on it. I took my car in for a routine oil change. My mechanic not the same shop found that my 2 passenger side tires were mounted incorrectly and 3 of my 4 tires were severely worn. So, I had to have my tires replaced. My mechanic replaces my tires and sends my car off for alignment, but they can’t fully align the new tires because my right rear arm is still bent from the accident in 2017. After thinking about it, I realize that my previous tires should have no more than
20,000 miles on them. Even cheap tires should last about 50,000 miles. Do I have a case to sue the body shop for causing excessive wear to my tires because they mounted my tires improperly and failed to repair my rear right arm? Can I recover the cost of having to get my tires replaced prematurely?
Asked on March 8, 2018 under Accident Law, Oregon
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the body shop for negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable body shop would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
You can file your lawsuit in small claims court. Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the cost of replacing the tires. Upon prevailing in the case, you can also recover court costs which would include the court filing fee and process server fee.
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