What settlement amount should I seek?
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What settlement amount should I seek?
A Pepsi tractor trailer turned around in my residential driveway on a
narrow country road. Some of my tree limbs were broken, ruts were left
in the ground, and my mailbox was destroyed. The mailbox post is a
little loose in the ground, but otherwise okay. It was all captured by
my security camera. You cannot actually see the truck hit the mailbox,
but common sense tells anyone that the truck had to hit it. The driver
made no attempt to contact us or leave contact information.
Asked on June 24, 2016 under Accident Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
They are potentially liable for the cost to repair--that's what you could get in court if you sued and won, no more, no less. So, the cost to maybe trim the tree professionally for its health; for a landlscaper to fill in the ruts; for a new mailbox. A settlement would be up to that amount, but might be lower, too--you generally accept less as a settlement to avoid the time, cost, headache, and uncertainty (no case is a guaranteed win) of going to trial for the money.
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