Garage door spring snapped and fell on my car

[imASH]

Jurisdiction

Illinois

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!

 

[Tax Counsel]

Chicago, IL
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!

You'd have to sue the landlord to get more than the 50% that the landlord is offering. 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 it found. Proving all that might require expert testimony, which isn't cheap. How much is at stake here?

 

[adjusterjack]

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.

 

[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?

 

[adjusterjack]

Since we are all saying the same thing on two sites I'm closing this thread and directing readers to the other site.

Garage door spring snapped and fell on my car