Garage door spring snapped and fell on my car

[imASH]

Chicago, IL

Hello,Please give me a legal advice on the case.I am renting an apartment and a garage space from a private landlord.
One day I walked in the garage and found out that garage door spring broke and caused some damage to my car.I do not have a comprehensive coverage so I tried to open a claim with liability insurance of my landlord.They denied the claim since "insured had no prior notice of foreseeability to prevent damages".
I find it hard to believe that the case would get denied if this happens while parked on business' parking/garage. It is arguably business owner responsibility to perform regular maintainance preventing catastrophic failures like this. At very least there should be a security wire installed.My landlord agreed to cover 50% of repair cost out of his pocket. I really do not want to bring my landlord in court since they have been nice to give 50% cut on rent for 3 month during covid.
Please advise on the situation.
Any input is highly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Just Blue]

Chicago, IL

Hello,Please give me a legal advice on the case.I am renting an apartment and a garage space from a private landlord.
One day I walked in the garage and found out that garage door spring broke and caused some damage to my car.I do not have a comprehensive coverage so I tried to open a claim with liability insurance of my landlord.They denied the claim since "insured had no prior notice of foreseeability to prevent damages".
I find it hard to believe that the case would get denied if this happens while parked on business' parking/garage. It is arguably business owner responsibility to perform regular maintainance preventing catastrophic failures like this. At very least there should be a security wire installed.My landlord agreed to cover 50% of repair cost out of his pocket. I really do not want to bring my landlord in court since they have been nice to give 50% cut on rent for 3 month during covid.
Please advise on the situation.
Any input is highly appreciated! Thank you!

How much is 50%? Is the damage cosmetic? How old is your car? Do you have renters insurance?

 

[Taxing Matters]

I really do not want to bring my landlord in court since they have been nice to give 50% cut on rent for 3 month during covid.

Well, that's about your only other option rather than taking the settlement offered by the landlord. As I pointed out on another board where you asked this question, in order to win that lawsuit, you must prove that the landlord was negligent — i.e. that the landlord failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the garage door from falling as it did. So, you'd have to be able to show, for example, that regular inspection would have spotted the problem in time to fix it before the door fell and that the landlord failed to make those inspections, or if the inspections were done that the landlord failed to act on what was found. Proving all that might require expert testimony, which isn't cheap. How much is at stake here?

By the way, if your thought was that you'd sue the landlord's insurance company instead of the landlord, that won't work. The insurance company's duty run to its insured — the landlord — not to you. It is the landlord that has the contractual and general legal duty to you with respect to keeping the property safe for you and your possessions.

 

[adjusterjack]

Please advise on the situation.
Any input is highly appreciated! Thank you!

Take the 50%.

He actually doesn't owe you anything because there isn't likely any negligence on his part. His insurance adjuster is correct.

My friend has been in the garage door business for decades. I've gone on numerous jobs with him and learned a lot about garage door systems.

Door springs are designed to last for many years, often decades. They are under a great deal of tension. Eventually they fail. There is no way of predicting the failure. Visual inspection doesn't show anything. There is no "maintenance" that can be performed on the spring. It's good until it isn't.

 

[adjusterjack]

Do you have renters insurance?

Renters insurance doesn't cover damage to an automobile.

Though it's wise to have it for other reasons.

 

[zddoodah]

I am renting an apartment and a garage space from a private landlord.

Please provide some detail about your statement that you rent "a garage space." Is the garage exclusively for your use? Or does the landlord have multiple tenants with spaces in the same garage? Or some other arrangement?

I tried to open a claim with liability insurance of my landlord.They denied the claim since "insured had no prior notice of foreseeability to prevent damages".
I find it hard to believe that the case would get denied if this happens while parked on business' parking/garage.

Liability insurance will pay damages that result from the insured's negligence. What it takes to determine whether or not the landlord was negligent depends on the specific facts and circumstances (hence my questions above). In a situation such as you described, the landlord must have actual knowledge of a dangerous condition or must be aware of facts that would put a reasonable person on notice of a potentially dangerous condition. It's not strict liability coverage.

It is arguably business owner responsibility to perform regular maintainance preventing catastrophic failures like this.

The most important word in this sentence is "arguably." Also, do you have evidence that the landlord failed to perform regular, reasonable maintenance or inspection? Also, I assume your use of the word "catastrophic" was hyperbolic. No one died or was injured, right?

At very least there should be a security wire installed.

Did you make that argument to the insurance adjuster who issued the claim denial letter?

My landlord agreed to cover 50% of repair cost out of his pocket.

Since liability is anything but clear, that's fairly generous. How much are the repair costs?

 

[imASH]

Thank you everyone for the input!

How much is 50%? Is the damage cosmetic? How old is your car? Do you have renters insurance?

I ended up paying about $1200 for hood and headlight repair. It is not the repair I am happy about (you can spot signs of repair if you look closely) but I figured that new headlight/hood were not "on the table" anyway...

By the way, if your thought was that you'd sue the landlord's insurance company instead of the landlord, that won't work. The insurance company's duty run to its insured — the landlord — not to you. It is the landlord that has the contractual and general legal duty to you with respect to keeping the property safe for you and your possessions.

Thank you for the clarification!

Door springs are designed to last for many years, often decades. They are under a great deal of tension. Eventually they fail. There is no way of predicting the failure. Visual inspection doesn't show anything. There is no "maintenance" that can be performed on the spring. It's good until it isn't

Appreciate the detailed explanation. I actually thought the opposite.
My google search revealed that the springs need to be replaced preventively as it is just matter of time when failure would happen.
The spring looked pretty old and rusted.
Also, it seems like having the security wire is considered to be a standard thing?
I guess my point is I would not wait till it snaps knowing there is a lifespan of the part and there is no security wire to prevent damages.

Please provide some detail about your statement that you rent "a garage space." Is the garage exclusively for your use? Or does the landlord have multiple tenants with spaces in the same garage?

The garage has 2 spots. One of them is rented by another tenant.

Did you make that argument to the insurance adjuster who issued the claim denial letter?

Didn't even have a chance to talk to them! The claim adjuster literally sent me their decision in a mailbox.
But like I mentioned a bit earlier: why not replacing springs preventively or/and installing security cable if it crertanly will snap and cause some damage one day otherwise?

 

[adjusterjack]

My google search revealed that the springs need to be replaced preventively as it is just matter of time when failure would happen.

That's a recommendation from the garage door industry. But, since failure cannot be predicted, it's not a legal duty.

The spring looked pretty old and rusted.

Now you see that. But, for every day you went in and out of the garage, did you ever notice the age and rust?

Also, it seems like having the security wire is considered to be a standard thing?

Doubtful that it would be "considered" by the courts.

I guess my point is I would not wait till it snaps knowing there is a lifespan of the part and there is no security wire to prevent damages.

One day if, or when, you buy a house with a garage will you immediately replace the springs and install a security wire, knowing that the spring will fail someday?

 

[zddoodah]

The garage has 2 spots. One of them is rented by another tenant.

That's good. It means you don't have exclusive possession of the garage, in which case this wouldn't even be possible to put on the landlord.

Didn't even have a chance to talk to them! The claim adjuster literally sent me their decision in a mailbox.

Why not pick up the phone and call him/her?

You didn't answer the other questions I asked. However, if your landlord has offered to pay $600 of the $1,200 repair cost, I don't think this is worth pushing beyond a phone call to the adjuster.