by Guest » Fri Apr 11, 2014 09:12 pm
I've been reading alot of topics on this and I have one of my own.
1. Went into a Sam's Club...was inside for about an hour or so.
2. Walked out and noticed a nice dent on my car.
3. Went inside and asked if they had surveillence video.
4. They sent someone out with a camera and took pics of car, my info, etc....
5. They went inside and said would call me when they looked at the video.
6. I called my insurance for advice. Said to call police for a report.
7. Cop arrives tries to say damage was old. Get call from store. Says they saw video and that a cart blew out of the cart corral, started rolling "down" the parking lot and directly into my car.
8. Cops asks to see video...confirms what store said.
9. As me and the cop walk outside, he says, "Look, there go two more cars (blown out of corral) and your car is about to get hit again." Two employees catch cart before anymore damage is done.
OK, almost everybody here has the same story but mine is a little different because...
1. Carts came out of corral.
2. Parking lots slopes downward from where corral is located.
I can see two cases of negligence here...maybe three.
1. Slope on parking lot = flawed design although city/county guidlines probably require some sort of slope going away from the building.
2. After having seen video of what happened, Sam's could have taken some sort of action to make sure carts in that certain corral don't get blown out again.
3. Winds will always be a factor so knowing this problem exists, they should have some form of preventative measure in place like a chain/rope with clips that can be attached to the corral during windy days. Maybe leave one side permanent and have a loop on the opposite side to attach the chain/rope with a clip, etc...
What do y'all think? Do I have a case or will they simply get away with it by saying it was nature's fault?
Esitmate to repair damage is over $600, deductable is $500...
By the looks of it...from what I've been reading, this seems like I might have to take this to SCC and sue for at the very least, the deductable.
It's messed up that they can get away from this so easily.
One other question...if that cart would have hit me in the rear and knocked me to the ground or into a bumper of another car and I hit my head and got a concussion, maybe broke my leg, etc, etc, etc...THEN WHAT? Same thing...blame it on mother nature and that's that?
1. Went into a Sam's Club...was inside for about an hour or so.
2. Walked out and noticed a nice dent on my car.
3. Went inside and asked if they had surveillence video.
4. They sent someone out with a camera and took pics of car, my info, etc....
5. They went inside and said would call me when they looked at the video.
6. I called my insurance for advice. Said to call police for a report.
7. Cop arrives tries to say damage was old. Get call from store. Says they saw video and that a cart blew out of the cart corral, started rolling "down" the parking lot and directly into my car.
8. Cops asks to see video...confirms what store said.
9. As me and the cop walk outside, he says, "Look, there go two more cars (blown out of corral) and your car is about to get hit again." Two employees catch cart before anymore damage is done.
OK, almost everybody here has the same story but mine is a little different because...
1. Carts came out of corral.
2. Parking lots slopes downward from where corral is located.
I can see two cases of negligence here...maybe three.
1. Slope on parking lot = flawed design although city/county guidlines probably require some sort of slope going away from the building.
2. After having seen video of what happened, Sam's could have taken some sort of action to make sure carts in that certain corral don't get blown out again.
3. Winds will always be a factor so knowing this problem exists, they should have some form of preventative measure in place like a chain/rope with clips that can be attached to the corral during windy days. Maybe leave one side permanent and have a loop on the opposite side to attach the chain/rope with a clip, etc...
What do y'all think? Do I have a case or will they simply get away with it by saying it was nature's fault?
Esitmate to repair damage is over $600, deductable is $500...
By the looks of it...from what I've been reading, this seems like I might have to take this to SCC and sue for at the very least, the deductable.
It's messed up that they can get away from this so easily.
One other question...if that cart would have hit me in the rear and knocked me to the ground or into a bumper of another car and I hit my head and got a concussion, maybe broke my leg, etc, etc, etc...THEN WHAT? Same thing...blame it on mother nature and that's that?
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 04:21 am Post Subject:
I think you got everything correct. I suspect Sams will not pay the claim if presented. I think you have a valid argument. Thought what kind of wind is needed to push a cart out of a corral? If it's an "unusually" strong wind then I think you may not have a good case. If you can show that it was a normal wind that should be expected and this was enough to allow carts to roll out then I think you have a better case for showing Sams would have/should have known this would happen.
I suspect you'd need to file suit before they would consider paying.
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 02:58 am Post Subject:
Know that the "Park at your own risk" disclaimers are almost universally worthless if you can prove negligence on the part of the lot owner/lessee. In this instance, the video will show whether there was any negligence involved. As tcope said, if the wind was unusual and unexpected, you probably have less of a case than if the wind was normal and expected.
All you can really do is sue and see what happens. Your deductible is only applicable if you do not recover damages from a liable third party. In other words, if your damages are $750, you sue for $750 and show the repair estimate (or invoice for completed work) to prove that amount. If you win, you will get a check for that amount. If you lose, you turn in the invoice to your insurance company, and they will pay you the repair amount less your other-than-collision (comprehensive) deductible.
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 06:01 am Post Subject:
I handled these all of the time for a small chain of grocery stores. And yes, we normally did not accept liability. As for the slope of the lot, yes you do have somewhat of a case, but what you have to show is that they did not take care to clear the carts from the corrals in a reasonable amount of time. I would bet that Sam's keeps logs to show every time an employee goes out to clear carts. There is also a question of how the cart was placed in the corral. I'm sure everyone has seen customers just push them towards the corral where they strike the carts or the supports of the corral but never are secured in the corral. This is something that the store cannot control. It has been shown that as long as a store makes a reasonable attempt to keep the carts in a safe manner that they will not be held liable.
So yes, your only choice would be to file suit. Good luck getting a look at the video and without that, how are you going to prove they did anything wrong.
As a side note, as a customer this is why you should make sure that you place your cart in the corral in a secure manner or take it back into the store. When I would pull video or talk to witnesses, if we found that another customer placed a cart in an unsafe manner we would supply their information to the claimant to pursue. You placed the cart outside of the corral or just left in the parking lot, you could be held liable.
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