Car damaged by trying to avoid a county lawn tractor parked and blocking our residential driveway
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Car damaged by trying to avoid a county lawn tractor parked and blocking our residential driveway
County lawn tractor blocked entrance to our residential driveway. 10 pm at night and pitched black out, tried to go around and damaged car by avoiding tractor. Called department and they refuse to make retribution and said we must go through our insurance and pay. It is, I believe, illegal to block access to a home.
Asked on October 10, 2017 under Accident Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
It may well be illegal, but illegal is not the same as "negligent" or--also to the point--being the cause of a car accident. Whether it was dark or not, you damaged your car avoiding a stationary object; the law generally finds that the person who either hit, or is damaged trying to avoid hitting, a stationary object was driving negligently or carelessly and hence was at fault. A driver who was at fault cannot recover compensation; it is unlikely, on the facts you describe, that you are are entitled to compensation from the county.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.