Vehicle damaged - hospital car park

KTRIC

I dont want to go into specifics about what was damaged, where and when. Just a general question.

My vehicle was damaged by a parking barrier in a car park operated by a hospital. The barrier didn't sense the vehicle was still under it due to its size and came down and caused about €250 worth of damage.

At the time the damage wasn't visible due to low light but since the vehicle was out in day light recently (within a month of the accident) I noticed it and contacted the hospital in question.

My question is, while I am waiting for them to drag their heals and look at the video footage, what is the best way for me to proceed legally ? Can I take them to the small claims court ? and if so who do I claim against ?

Thanks

seamus

Yep, you can go through small claims.
http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/library3.nsf/pagecurrent/781D7D5227918A618025715C004CAEF3?opendocument

However, they will have an insurance company and if you can deal with them directly it will save a lot of hassle. I would only go the small claims route if they dispute liability.

KTRIC

seamus wrote: »

Yep, you can go through small claims.
http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/library3.nsf/pagecurrent/781D7D5227918A618025715C004CAEF3?opendocument

However, they will have an insurance company and if you can deal with them directly it will save a lot of hassle. I would only go the small claims route if they dispute liability.

Thanks Seamus, who would I direct the claim against ? The hospital as an entity or a person, ie head of operations etc ?

P. Breathnach

You should claim from the operator of the car park, which might well not be the hospital at all, but a contractor. Is it convenient for you or a friend to go in and look for signage that indicates who runs the car park?

goz83

Telling us the hospital name might help

KTRIC

P. Breathnach wrote: »

You should claim from the operator of the car park, which might well not be the hospital at all, but a contractor. Is it convenient for you or a friend to go in and look for signage that indicates who runs the car park?

Its run by the actual hospital, I've confirmed that by speaking to their operations department.

goz83 wrote: »

Telling us the hospital name might help

How so ??

Luke92

If you notified them only 1 month after the incident then they will have no footage saved.

If you reported on the day of the incident then you should be fine. They would have the incident logged and footage saved.

MarkR

I would be thinking along the lines of Luke also, you may have left it late. Best of luck with it through, hope you get sorted.

goz83

KTRIC wrote: »

How so ??

If it were run by a contractor, the hospital name would have made it easy to find out who runs the car park, but it's run by the hospital, so no need.

How can you even be sure it was the barrier that caused the damage? Your op is quite vague, so it's difficult to help. Based on what you have told us, you have little hope of finding the hospital liable, as so much time has passed between the incident and the report.

KTRIC

goz83 wrote: »

If it were run by a contractor, the hospital name would have made it easy to find out who runs the car park, but it's run by the hospital, so no need.

How can you even be sure it was the barrier that caused the damage? Your op is quite vague, so it's difficult to help. Based on what you have told us, you have little hope of finding the hospital liable, as so much time has passed between the incident and the report.

Because the vehicle was trapped under the barrier and it was witnessed by two members of the security staff as well as another member of staff. It was a clear cut case.

bucketybuck

KTRIC wrote: »

Because the vehicle was trapped under the barrier and it was witnessed by two members of the security staff as well as another member of staff. It was a clear cut case.

Are those members of staff going to verify your claim that this actually happened if the claim is disputed?

tayto lover

KTRIC wrote: »

I dont want to go into specifics about what was damaged, where and when. Just a general question.

My vehicle was damaged by a parking barrier in a car park operated by a hospital. The barrier didn't sense the vehicle was still under it due to its size and came down and caused about €250 worth of damage.

At the time the damage wasn't visible due to low light but since the vehicle was out in day light recently (within a month of the accident) I noticed it and contacted the hospital in question.

My question is, while I am waiting for them to drag their heals and look at the video footage, what is the best way for me to proceed legally ? Can I take them to the small claims court ? and if so who do I claim against ?

Thanks

You may have dragged your own heels a bit there as they might have taped over the video by now.

slimjimmc

KTRIC wrote: »

Because the vehicle was trapped under the barrier and it was witnessed by two members of the security staff as well as another member of staff. It was a clear cut case.

Surely that should have been sufficient to alert you to the possibility of damage and to check the car either right away or even in daylight over the next few days - not a month later by accident.
If there is no admission and the other party wants to dispute then you may have a struggle. A lot can happen in a month so the other party could argue the damage was caused elsewhere. After all, if the size of your car makes it difficult for one barrier then what's to say it hasn't happened elsewhere before or since.
BTW I don't think a insurer would dispute this instance but it should serve as a reminder to act more quickly should similar incidents occur in future.

If security attended then they should have logged it in their incident logbook.

KTRIC

slimjimmc wrote: »

Surely that should have been sufficient to alert you to the possibility of damage and to check the car either right away or even in daylight over the next few days - not a month later by accident.
If there is no admission and the other party wants to dispute then you may have a struggle. A lot can happen in a month so the other party could argue the damage was caused elsewhere. After all, if the size of your car makes it difficult for one barrier then what's to say it hasn't happened elsewhere before or since.
BTW I don't think a insurer would dispute this instance but it should serve as a reminder to act more quickly should similar incidents occur in future.

If security attended then they should have logged it in their incident logbook.

It was a motorbike, not a car.

bucketybuck

KTRIC wrote: »

It was a motorbike, not a car.

Can I ask why you were still parked under the barrier at the time?

KTRIC

bucketybuck wrote: »

Can I ask why you were still parked under the barrier at the time?

I was stopped whilst getting instructions from the security guard as where to park.

goz83

KTRIC wrote: »

Because the vehicle was trapped under the barrier and it was witnessed by two members of the security staff as well as another member of staff. It was a clear cut case.

I'm sorry, but there is nothing clear cut at all here. What seems clear cut to you, is not really the case. It now transpires that the vehicle is a motorcycle (why this was not included in the op is unclear) and that you only noticed the damage a month later. I don't see how you can be sure that the incident a month previous is what caused the damage, which is not clear in itself. Had it been a car, I might understand not spotting light damage, but a motorcycle? There are a very limited number of areas that could be damaged by being trapped under a barrier.

Perhaps you work at the hospital, so don't want to give more details, but this slow leaking of information has put me off. Later.

KTRIC

goz83 wrote: »

I'm sorry, but there is nothing clear cut at all here. What seems clear cut to you, is not really the case. It now transpires that the vehicle is a motorcycle (why this was not included in the op is unclear) and that you only noticed the damage a month later. I don't see how you can be sure that the incident a month previous is what caused the damage, which is not clear in itself. Had it been a car, I might understand not spotting light damage, but a motorcycle? There are a very limited number of areas that could be damaged by being trapped under a barrier.

Perhaps you work at the hospital, so don't want to give more details, but this slow leaking of information has put me off. Later.

My initial questions were answered. I'm sorry I didn't furnish you with every sordid detail. :rolleyes:

davo10

KTRIC wrote: »

My initial questions were answered. I'm sorry I didn't furnish you with every sordid detail. :rolleyes:

Contributory negligence by stopping for a chat whilst under an automated barrier?

goz83

KTRIC wrote: »

My initial questions were answered. I'm sorry I didn't furnish you with every sordid detail. :rolleyes:

It might have been useful if you were more upfront about the situation. I was hardly suggesting you furnish "every sordid detail", but it makes a world of difference that you were (a) on a motorcycle (b) stopped under the automated barrier.

It would appear that you were negligent and this is possibly why heels are being dragged, while liability is discussed.

Little CuChulainn

I'd imagine it will be difficult to prove the barrier was the cause considering it was a month before damage was noticed.