Tire Punctured In Front of Contruction

[savagedriver]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hello, I am currently doing some construction in on my driveway. A person drove by my house, and claimed a nail from my job site punctured his tire and he needed to replace his tire. He said he replaced the tire already, but kept the nail as evidence and wants me to be reimburse him for the new tire. Am I legally responsible for his tire?

Thanks!

[Some Random Guy]

Have them send you a good quality photo of the nail, a copy of the repair bill and a statement describing when it happened. If the nail came from your jobsite, then you are responsible for the damage to his vehicle.

Do you have a contractor doing the construction or is this a personal project?

[savagedriver]

Hello, yes I do have a contractor. He said he kept the nail and can show it to me. This is the note he left at my door:

"Hello, My name is X and my son attends XXX. I drive past your house twice/day, and today, 5/15/2009 @ approximately 8:20am a nail punctured my tire in front of your house. I believe it to come from the construction being done on your house. Please call me @ XXX."

Do I need to have him provide even more detail?

[Zigner]

Frankly, I don't think he has a case. Unless your contractor uses some special nails that are very rare...

[Some Random Guy]

Give this information to your contractor and have them handle it. I would expect that he would want to see the repair bill and possibly want to justify why the tire was replaced instead of patched if the tire was very expensive.

I would ask them to bring a photo of the nail or have you photograph it when they bring it by. That way you have proof of it not being the same style nail used on your construction site if it is different.

[jhlwstdnt]

Ask yourself, do you owe him a duty? If so, did you breach that duty? Was your breach the cause of his damages? Did he suffer any damages? And finally, what defenses might you be able to assert?

If it were me and he left me that letter, I would respond to him with this:

"Responding to your letter, it is nice to meet you. Since you drive past my house twice each day, please stop by and tell me what you think of the new driveway. Oh, and sorry about the nail in the tire, I hate when that happens."

[Some Random Guy]

responding to the junior high law student...

Ask yourself, do you owe him a duty?

The property owner has a duty not to negligently put hazardous materials on a public roadway.

If so, did you breach that duty?

That's what we are trying to find out. Or rather he can pass the buck to his contractor and have him find out.

Was your breach the cause of his damages?

That's what we are trying to find out.

Did he suffer any damages?

He claims to have suffered damages. A repair bill would help confirm that. That's why the contractor should ask for one.

And finally, what defenses might you be able to assert?

One possibility is: Based on the photo of the nail and on the nails present on the job site, its not their nail....

We don't know enough to guess at all of the defenses. We haven't even heard if the homeowner walked to the end of the driveway to see if there are any nails in the street.

[coppermanandson]

I'm going to put my two cents worth's in.
Unless he hit something in front of your house and the tire blew out there, How do you know it was from your construction site? Do you have debris piled up next to the road? Is there nails or other debris on the road now that you can see? He just might be taking advantage of an opportunity to get you to buy a new tire. He shows the same nail to 4 different construction sites and wala new set of tires on his car.

[Stevef]

Another question is "even if you negligently left debris in the road, are you liable for the cost of a new tire?" How much tread was on the old tire?

The "victim" had the foresight to keep the nail, did he keep the damaged tire as well, or do you just have to take his word for it that it was replaced because the nail in his possession damaged it?

[Kiawah]

Typically, a nail in a tire can be repaired easily at minimum cost. One can buy a tire plug/puncture kit at an autoparts store, and do it themselves. I've done it on numerous occasions on our vehicles over the years. The kit might cost $5 bucks if that, and I have a spare kit in all of our vehicles if something ever did occur. You don't even need to take the tire off the car to do this repair. If a person is not handy at all, then tire shops can do this as well. I've never had one do it and you could easily call for an estimate, but I would expect it to be in the neighborhood of maybe 20 bucks.

If the sidewall is punctured, then a tire cannot be repaired and would need to be replaced. If the puncture is in the tread area (which it almost always is since that is where the tire contacts the pavement), then it can be plugged.

IF you accept the fact that it is your responsibility (which may be a good neighbor thing to do, particularly if it's a trash heap outside and/or nails are visible), then pay the minimal cost for the repair. Buying a new tire with 100% tread wear is an outrageous request.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by Kiawah

Typically, a nail in a tire can be repaired easily at minimum cost. One can buy a tire plug/puncture kit at an autoparts store, and do it themselves. I've done it on numerous occasions on our vehicles over the years. The kit might cost $5 bucks if that. If a person is not handy at all, then tire shops can do this as well. I've never had one do it and you could easily call for an estimate, but I would expect it to be in the neighborhood of maybe 20 bucks.

The last time a garage plugged a tire for me, they charged me $5. Most tire centers won't plug tires, and if they do, they use a 'special' plug that goes on from the inside, so they get to dismount the tire, plug it, and mount and balance it. They quoted me $29 for that, and would not warranty the repair.

The next question is "did the car owner mitigate his damages?"

[savagedriver]

I spoke with the man, he showed me the nail that punctured his tire. I took a pic of the nail and showed it to my contractor. The nail is not from our job site, and does not belong to us. I relayed the message back to the man, he is still saying we're responsible for his loss. He insisted that we didn't clean up our jobsite good enough, and it's our responsibility. But the thing is we don't even use that type of nail. Does he have a case?

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by savagedriver

I spoke with the man, he showed me the nail that punctured his tire. I took a pic of the nail and showed it to my contractor. The nail is not from our job site, and does not belong to us. I relayed the message back to the man, he is still saying we're responsible for his loss. He insisted that we didn't clean up our jobsite good enough, and it's our responsibility. But the thing is we don't even use that type of nail. Does he have a case?

Tell him to pound sand.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by Wirelessany1

Tell him to pound sand.

**A: or pound rubber.

[Country Living]

I realize those of us who live in the boonies and use county roads (made primarily of sand and whatever) are not as lucky as city folks with paved roads. The two times I picked up nails they went in the sidewall and I had no choice but to replace the tires due to the location of the puncture. So never say never.

That being said - you'd have hard time convincing me someone driving on city roads would have a sidewall puncture.