QUESTION
Can I sue if I swung my floor mat against one of those poles and it came loose and crashed against the side of my car denting it?
Asked on Jul 24th, 2016 on Personal Injury - California
More details to this question:
The car wash in question has a self-vacuum area. Next to each spot are 7' x 3" steel poles screwed into the ground. The pole was not broken by my actions, unknown to me it was very loose to begin with. An employee came with a wrench and screwed it back in. He said: "Everyone bangs their mats against that pole." Later the manager came and said: "12,000 people hit their mats against that pole and you were unlucky it came out on you." My position is that the management of the car wash should provide safe conditions for their customers. The pole could've just as easily come loose from someone bumping it or the vacuum hoses yanking them out. Additionally, the car wash have implicitly condoned this activity since they've admitted to witnessing it on many occasions. Lastly, there aren't any signs warning against it.
1 ANSWER
Why swing the mat against the pole instead of banging it on the ground? You have some fault for not changing first that the pole could withstand the force of the mat hitting it since that was not the intended purpose of the pole, even if people used it for that. Since the employees were aware that many customers used the poles for that purpose, they should have posted signs and periodically checked to see if the pole was loose, so there might be some liability, but is suing worth the time and expense? How much would it cost to pound the dent out? You can make a claim with the owner's insurance company, but you probably will not make a full recovery if you file suit in Small Claims Court. Is it worth the time to sue?
Answered on Aug 23rd, 2016 at 6:30 PM