Towing Liability

[Vdubbin]

SO My Buddy's parents gets his car towed from his parents place to a VW dealership to have a faulty front brake caliper replaced for his birthday. The tow truck driver doesn't checks the car over and ends up towing it with just 2 lug nuts on one of the rear wheels anyways. So he knows that one rear wheel that's going to be traveling deerfoot has only two bolts in it and decides to tow it anyways. Long story short the wheel comes off and hits a charter bus on the other side of deerfoot and the tow truck driver doesn't stop for about 300 meters towing the car on it's axle and brake lines what not.

Now the company is trying to say that it's not there fault and that the over $4000 in damage to the rear of the car they are going to pay for.

Just wondering who's at fault.

This was done all with my friend not knowing that his parents were fixing the car for him so it wrecked his day and now he's trying to get the towing company to pay for all the damage. Thank in advance.

[theken]

First was it a reputable towing company or a private operator. If its private like an o/o your sol. The towees need to inform the driver if there is a problem like 2 lugs and request to dolly it at a higher charge. If he was informed then it is word vs word. If it is a reputable company they have insurance.

[Vdubbin]

It was a reputable company and the driver was informed and he choose to tow it like that anyways.

[Pahnda]

For anyone that was confused when reading... I think this:

Not the company is trying to say that it's not there fault and that the over $4000 in damage to the rear of the car they are going to pay for.

should be:


Now the company is trying to say that it's not their fault and that the over $4000 in damage to the rear of the car they are not going to pay for.

[Vdubbin]

Originally posted by Pahnda
For anyone that was confused when reading... I think this:


should be:



Thanks & Fixed

[Sugarphreak]

...

[kvg]

Thats bogus the tow company should fix the car if he chose to tow it with only 2 bolts on it

[tom_9109]

The insurance on the car being towed will likely not be on the hook.
The Alberta automobile policy covers liability imposed by law arising from the use or operation of the automobile. I my mind the vehicle was not being used or operated.


The damage is a direct result of the negligence of the driver. He acknowledged a potentially hazardous condition yet decided to still tow the vehicle. As such the cause of the loss is his decision to tow an unsafe vehicle. Ultimately he is responsible for the load he is hauling

[theken]

When I drove tow truck people would try to claim ludacris stuff that was impossible for me to do, like an audi that claimed i damaged his trunk and rear fender, i towed it on dollies and towed from the front. There was a clown who claimed i broke his power folding mirror, and his airbag light is now on. shitty thing is when people claim this kind of shit, I out of pocket had to pay for stuff i didn't do, because the company would just agree with the guy cause they didn't want a hassle, and it would come off my cheque.

In this case it is purely the drivers fault *IF* he was told about the lug nuts, when a driver shows up and there is undisclosed information like that it is not his responsibility to check, there is alot more going on than to make sure lug nuts are on the wheels because why would they not be.
If i showed up to tow a car, and someone said theres only 2 lugnuts i would dolly the car, if nobody tells me I have no reason to dolly the car therefor i would not do it, and if something happens why would I have to pay.

if you were getting your car towed and lets say for example your doors are not bolted on and the latches don't work, something a driver would not need to check cause he can assume the doors would be attached, if they fall off that is not his fault.

Hope the parents told him there was only 2 lugnuts cause i fucking hate tow truck drivers now, hope you get it repaired

[Vdubbin]

Update:

He called the towing company this morning and they have relented and sent all the paper work to their insurance to have it fixed.

The parents did in fact tell the driver and he looked at it and then proceeded to tow it so they've realized that it was their mistake.

He also got his wheel back from the bus company that it hit but only after having to phone the cops and they had to show up and make the company give it back to him. The cops were not amused that they were holding it ransom for a "cash" payment to fix the bus.