Towing services are very crucial at a time of misfortune for any car owner. There are so many scenarios when you will require the services of a towing company. Some of this situations are when you; you are involved in a road accident, your car breaks down in the highway and cases of car abandonment.In all this situation, there is no other choice than to hire a towing company to move your car for you to a specified situation. However, there has been a question that most people ask about towing companies; Are towing companies responsible for damaging your vehicle?
Factors that may support your claims are as follows:
The reason why your car was towed highly affects the damage claim. For instance, if your vehicle was abandoned at a private area and the police call in a towing company to carry the car to the police station, you have to sign various documents after paying the various parking fines stated by the regulations of a particular state and the towing company fee. These documents are a proof of handing over of the car from the police to you.
However, the towing companies are also included in this transaction as a party. For this reason, they also have documents you should sine after paying the fee. Your lawyer should always be present during the signing of this documents. This is to prevent you from falling into a trap or helping you sue the towing company in case the car is damaged.
Most towing companies especially those that have contracts with the town, city or county to wreck or tow cars, have clauses in their documents that swiftly slip them from any liability if the car was damaged during the towing process. If you sign this release documents in haste, you can not sue the towing company later. If you sue them, they will have the proof that you signed them off from any liability in case the car is damaged.
Another most common instance is when you sign the documents in a hurry and clear the towing company of any liability if any item in your car got lost or the car got damaged at the parking lot. If any of the above scenarios occurred, you will not be able to sue the towing company since they have evidence of your signature on the copy of the release documents. Remember, if the parking lot was municipal property, this makes the case even tougher for you. With the help of your lawyer, you should critically review the clauses of the release document to avoid any traps.
Proving that your car was damaged or something is missing from your car is a very tough task. This is because most people don’t take pictures or document the belonging/items/parts of a car before towing. Most towing companies take pieces of evidence because they know the dangers that come with ignorance. If you find that something is missing, there will be no enough proof that the item was even there in the first place.
The towing companies end up escaping the fine of compensating you at a court of law or by your insurance company due to the lack of enough or tangible evidence or proof.
To get any compensation from a towing company, you must be very keen before towing and after towing to make sure you counter-check the condition of your car in case of any alerting concern that may involve compensation, otherwise, lack of proof will leave you sorting your losses alone.