Trying to get some advice on how to handle an accident that occurred on the property of the high school that my daughter attends. Here is a snap shot of what happen:
On June 1, my wife was leaving a high school parking lot via the drive way. It’s normally a one way that is about 2 lanes wide. On this day, the entrance was blocked for road work, so the “exit” was now entrance and exit, 1 lane going each way. It had rained heavily in the area, but had stopped by the time she got there. She picked up my daughter, and started to leave out the right side (now only exit side). There was a water puddle about 4 or 5 feet after a speed bump. She tried to straddle the puddle but hit a pothole that was covered by the water. Both tires on the passenger side were flattened as a result of hitting the pothole. Due to the water covering the pothole, you could not see it there. Since the cones were up and blocking the other side, there was no way to go around the water puddle. There were no signs, markings, or warnings that a pothole existed. Wife took pictures and called a tow truck. The next day she contacted the school’s district office explained what happen and wanted to know how to file a claim. She was told that they, the school, weren’t liable and we needed to file the claim through our auto insurance. By noon the day she notified the school, the morning after it happen, the school had filled the pothole in with dirt. We finally got a claim filed through the school’s insurance and just got notice that it was denied due to “our insured had recently been placed on notice of the pothole on their property and did not have ample time to make the needed repairs to the pothole. Furthermore, you have the duty to operate your vehicle with reasonable care and to avoid any hazardous road conditions that you may be confronted with.”
The repairs to the vehicle were around $700. Would it be worth pursuing actions through an attorney?
On June 1, my wife was leaving a high school parking lot via the drive way. It’s normally a one way that is about 2 lanes wide. On this day, the entrance was blocked for road work, so the “exit” was now entrance and exit, 1 lane going each way. It had rained heavily in the area, but had stopped by the time she got there. She picked up my daughter, and started to leave out the right side (now only exit side). There was a water puddle about 4 or 5 feet after a speed bump. She tried to straddle the puddle but hit a pothole that was covered by the water. Both tires on the passenger side were flattened as a result of hitting the pothole. Due to the water covering the pothole, you could not see it there. Since the cones were up and blocking the other side, there was no way to go around the water puddle. There were no signs, markings, or warnings that a pothole existed. Wife took pictures and called a tow truck. The next day she contacted the school’s district office explained what happen and wanted to know how to file a claim. She was told that they, the school, weren’t liable and we needed to file the claim through our auto insurance. By noon the day she notified the school, the morning after it happen, the school had filled the pothole in with dirt. We finally got a claim filed through the school’s insurance and just got notice that it was denied due to “our insured had recently been placed on notice of the pothole on their property and did not have ample time to make the needed repairs to the pothole. Furthermore, you have the duty to operate your vehicle with reasonable care and to avoid any hazardous road conditions that you may be confronted with.”
The repairs to the vehicle were around $700. Would it be worth pursuing actions through an attorney?
