What to do if I bought gas that had water in it and as a result I suffered great harm to my car?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What to do if I bought gas that had water in it and as a result I suffered great harm to my car?

Can the gas company be held responsible?

Asked on August 20, 2015 under Business Law, Alabama

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

You could potentially sue, and recover the cost to repair your car, from whomever was responsible for the gas being watered that could be the gas company, if they manufactured watered gas, but this is unlikely it could be the distributor, if they watered the gas before delivering it it could be the station owner, if she/he watered the gas etc. A good way to start may be to sue the station and/or station owner in small claims court acting as your own attorney to save on legal fess this called representing yourself "pro se", since they are presumbly local, and you can generally only sue local parties in small claims--to sue a national company, like Exxon, say, or a non-local distributor, you'd probably have to sue in regular county or district court, which can be much more complicated and costly. Also, it most likely the case that it was at the station that the gas was watered. If you can show that the damage was caused by watered gas and that you purchased it there, you could recover compensation. You could use your own testimony as to where you bought the gas and when you discovered the problem, but would likely need to put your mechanic on the stand to testify about how he knows in his expert opinion or experience that the damage was caused by watered gas and what it costs to repair.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption