What to do if we have property damage from a water tank rolling into our yard that owners insurance company refuses to cover?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if we have property damage from a water tank rolling into our yard that owners insurance company refuses to cover?
The tank, approx 16 feet tall and 25 foot diameter weighing approx 11,000 pounds, was uprooted by a wind and rolled into our yard, totaling a cabover camper, damaging our garage, totaling a pull camper, tearing up trees and yard, damaging a cargo trailer. 2 weeks prior to that incident the other tank in the same location was uprooted and blown off the hill. The owner of the tanks did nothing to try to secure either tank to prevent them from moving even though it would have been an easy fix. He did nothing to help us and offered no help in clean up or repair of any of the damage.
Asked on March 1, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Montana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
1) Double check your policy(ies)--if you think the insurer should have paid under the terms of the policy, you might consider bringing a legal action to force it to honor its policy obligations. You do not need to take its determination as the last word.
2) If the tank owner was negligent, or unreasonably careless, he may be liable for the damage his tanks did. People can be held financially responsible when their carelessness damages another's property. If another tank in the same location blew away and the owner did not do anything to secure the other tank(s), that could easly be negligence, since a reasonable person in that situation would have taken some measures to prevent a recurrence of the problem. If he won't voluntarily pay, you'd have to sue him for the money, but if you could establish his negligence, you'd seem to have a reasonable chance to collect.
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.