by Guest » Fri Oct 09, 2009 02:39 am
I had parked my car in the parking lot of a supermarket. When I came out of the supermarket I actually saw that two shopping carts came out of the corral because of a strong wind. One of these shopping carts hit my car and caused damage.
I went right back into the supermarket and reported the damaged. I was told that they not gonna pay for the damage because it happens all the time.
I think especially if it happens all the time they should take care of the problem. It was extremely windy the whole day and it happend in the afternoon.
Does the supermarket have to pay my damage or is it just bad luck for me?
I went right back into the supermarket and reported the damaged. I was told that they not gonna pay for the damage because it happens all the time.
I think especially if it happens all the time they should take care of the problem. It was extremely windy the whole day and it happend in the afternoon.
Does the supermarket have to pay my damage or is it just bad luck for me?
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 03:03 am Post Subject:
Businesses typically do this all the time in an effort to turn anyone away that may report a claim. I have yet to see any business not pay for said damages or allow a person to not file a claim. They own the carts and are responsible for maintaining them and keeping them coralled, per their policy with their insurance company. The signs you see out in the parking lot "not reponsible for cart damage etc." is nothing more than a smoke screen to keep you from reporting the damage. You need to go back and speak with the manager about filing a claim with his insurance company or if the supermarket would be willing to pay for your damages.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 03:51 am Post Subject:
As an adjuster I've almost never paid a claim in this situation. If I knew a gust of wind caused the cart to come out of the corral the claim would never be paid. The supermarket owes _reasonable_ care to protect people on their property. They provide these corrals to do just that. They also have employees that go out on a regular basis and collect carts. If they can show this is done, then that is _reasonable_. If damage occurs on their property they are not automatically liable/negligent.
What more should the supermarket have done to prevent this from happening?
A sign is very different then actually taking action to provide a safe environment. One is just a warning. They other is an actual action.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 04:02 am Post Subject:
I agree with tcope. I paid around 2% of these when I used to handle. Do the carts belong to them...yes. Do they owe a duty to keep the carts in a safe manner...yes. If they can show that they did this then their insurance company will not pay. I would still file the claim, but I don't really see it going anywhere. You stated yourself that wind caused the cart to come out of the corral. It could be different if the carts were sitting in the middle of the lot when it happened....and even that is an uphill battle.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 12:22 pm Post Subject:
Guys that is very different then what I have experianced in Kansas and Missouri. As I said, I have yet to experiance a business not pay for such damage. One recently was from wind damage. If those carts are placed properly inside the corral, wind is not going to move them. One case in particular was one with a large supermarket chain here in the mid-west. Per the coverage, the business was required to document when employess secured the lot.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 02:02 pm Post Subject:
If those carts are placed properly inside the corral, wind is not going to move them.
The company is not going to be responsible for making sure that everyone always puts the carts in the corral correctly. I agree, wind should not be able to blow a cart out of the corral but this is what the OP states happened. The store supplies corrals to prevent this type of thing from happening. They should prevent it from happening so if it did, it can be shown that the store provided reasonable care.Per the coverage, the business was required to document when employess secured the lot.
It should not be a condition of coverage, rather something else that shows the store took reasonable care. It goes a long way if the store can provide documentation to show that they have a schedule to pick up carts. This shows that they are not just left sitting around the parking area.Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 03:00 pm Post Subject: Meant to be tongue in cheek!
We know they hire the sharpest cart corraling jockeys in the cart corraling field. You get your basic corraling skills under your belt, with one guy jockeying a train of carts twenty long and another guiding the nose and jumping on for the ride down hill. After boredom sets in, they always go for the worlds record of cart trains and we know they never run out of control. These same hires after mastering their carting skills, move onto the slurpee machines at the snack bars.
Many work their way through college, graduate with bachelors degrees, and become rental car delivery drivers. And some rental car jockeys eventually become bored and become auto appraisers with two additional weeks of training. And when you ask them do you really know anything about auto damage or fixing wrecks, they reply, "I know you don't attempt 30 shopping carts in a train cuz, when they break up they cause about 5000 dollars worth of damage to the cars they hit." Now where's that mustang that has cow damage or was it cowl?
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 05:20 pm Post Subject:
Per the coverage, the business was required to document when employess secured the lot.
Some underwriting departments require that the insured has a schedule for cart pick ups, but it is just not the store's fault if someone did not place the cart in the corral or place it correctly in the corral as long as they can show they are making a reasonable attempt to clear the corrals and parking lot of loose carts.
Other things do come into play like the condition of the parking lot (slope), but the OP stated that wind blew the cart out of the corral.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 08:42 pm Post Subject:
On one case, one of my instructions were to obtain the secured lot documentation, noting on the DOL/time when someone secured the carts in the lot. This store never understood that their policy required that they do. So payment was made. In just about everyone of these cases, the claimant reported wind as the culprit. So it looks like each of us has encountered something different and most of the store managers in some cases thought becuase they had signs out in the lot, they were covered. My advice to the OP, it can't hurt to ask. If you call the carrier directly they may infact deny the claim, but I wouldn't take an employee at his word, given the above info.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 09:34 pm Post Subject:
A store or their insurance company can, at any time, offer to pay the claim. If the store has a written schedule and sticks to it, it's a good defense. if they don't, their defense is weaker. An underwriter may require stores with carts to have a schedule but if they don't have one it does not automatically make a store liable. Liability and underwriting requires are two different things.
I'm not disagreeing that the stores carrier may pay this claim... I'm just saying that in my experience wind blowing a cart out of corral is going to result in a denial.
Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 08:44 pm Post Subject: Are you people serious?
Everyone looks for a reason to sue. It's disgusting.
The legal system should be collapsed and everyone should have to fend for themselves.
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