should I sue?

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needsaresto

needsaresto

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Jus t had the city works manager in my house explaining thier plowing,snow removal etc.

Why?

I had to phone the city today and lodge a complaint. Was driving my son to the bus stop in our Van yesterday and none of the roads in and out of west Trail here had been sanded and plowed. As a result I had no brakes or steering going down hill and lost complete control. This crap with shitty plowing/sanding has been going on forever here.

The Van hit a snow bank and climbed it,high centered on the concrete barrier behind the snow. The Van ground down the top of the barrier for a few more feet and stopped. Beyond the barrier is a brutal 20 ft drop. The van was hi centered on the barrier and me and a buddy tried to pull it off with my 4x4 but the road was soooo slick there was no traction. I ended up calling a tow truck. Cost me $100 just to have it lifted off and dropped back on the road. MY SON AND I VERY LUCKY TO BE ALIVE TODAY!

And the tow truck driver destroyed the bumper skin beyond repair. It had one crack about 8" long which I could have easily fixed. Not now...

The good news is the Van is still driveable. I missed all the critical stuff when we hit! But I do need a bumper skin now which is anywhere from $250 to $350.And autowreckers will not part with just a skin,they want to sell the whole bumper.

So Im filing an insurance claim on the tow truck driver.Hopefully icbc will cover the damage without my rate jumping.

Should I sue the city of trail for thier terrible snow removal/sanding and plowing? This entire city of 15000 people and they have 4 plow drivers. 74 km of road to plow (thats one way so double the distance as they have to come back). Is that a reasonable snow removal program?

Seems to me thier crews are too thin and overworked.
 
I think a suit would boil down to whether you had knowledge the road was NOT plowed. Sounds like you knew.
 
I am really sorry to hear about the wreck, but thank God no one was hurt. I can't even offer an opinion about the snow removal. We don't get nearly enough snow down here to warent any kind of crew - one reason the city shuts down for flurries.

Sounds like it could have been a lot worse, glad everyone is OK.
 
what tow truck company was it? and im sorry to hear your bad towing experience, if you were up here i could have done it for you :)
 
Most cities write the laws such that you can't sue them for anything. That said get a lawyer, the first consult is free and will let you know were you stand.
 
you will e up against the big guns, and unlimited recource of money. a waste of time in mho
 
My dad always said when I threatened a suit that "you can suit for anything but that doesn't mean you will collect"
 
Sorry---this is YOUR problem. YOU drive the roads YOU are the eyes seeing down the road and YOU are always supposed to be aware of the road ahead.

It matters not whether a Kansas tornado drops a house belonging to a witch in the road, whether there's a baby in a box, or a fallen tree. It matters not whether a flash flood, shallow, deep, or any snow, ice, gravel, beer, or dead fish (it's happened) YOU are always supposed to have your vehicle
"""" #### under control #### """"
 
i feel for you and what happend and glad nobody was hurt but step in there shoes at least some of the ice was removed those are dangerous driving conditions on a good day spit happens even with tow truck driver it happens glad you and yours are ok f the van
 
why don't you sue god for making it snow?

Why don't you sue yourself for driving in the snow?

why don't you sue your son for needing a ride to the bus stop?

I can't remember what part of the constitution said you had the right to plowed roads, hmmmmm...

Something bad happened so you deserve money?
 
First off glad you and your son are ok. Can you consult a lawyer to find out if it is worth pursuing before you jump on it. Free consultation?
 
Did you have chains? I think after severl years of knowing the roads are under plowed I would say F it and get some chains or some studded snow tires.

Glad you and your boy are ok though.

$.02
 
Today my GF was driving down a street at 30 MPH and saw a "Dip" sign with no speed limit attached. The sign was located at the dip not ahead of it to warn drivers to slow down. She launched her Saturn and it came down so hard it broke the oil pan. Fortunately she is sharp enough to pull over and inspect the car and found the oil pouring out. She called AAA and when the tow truck driver showed up he said he gets 2 or 3 calls a week for a tow from that spot. I told her to call the city and raise hell. I also told her that there is probably some bent front end parts and it would definitely need an alignment. I also advised her to file a claim with her Ins. Company. She was driving the speed limit and using "Due care".
 
It will cost more to sue then to repair your van
 
Glad to hear you and yer boy are ok!! Thats seems like one hell of an adventure. Your road might not have been plowed.....yet. They way they will defend is that they cant be everywhere at the same time, I would put what you can thru insurance.
 
Where I live they didn't bother to plow the roads in my sub-division when it snowed a while back. I asked around & found out they were waiting for the big storm that was predicted to come a week later. We went with unplowed roads for a week because they didn't want to do it twice. But after they plow & I get my driveway cleared out they always seem to come back by & leave a pile 1 to 2 feet tall all the way across it. I think you're gonna' have to live with the city doing whatever the cith wants to do. Like they say..."You can't fight City Hall."

Who the hell is "They?" :scratch:
 
Sounds like you need a little cool down time.Don't make it worse on yourself.If you are to make any difference,better get more than one person involved.Im sure you didn't make any friends by having him come to your house.Back to the question-NO.
 
67Dart273 said:
Sorry---this is YOUR problem. YOU drive the roads YOU are the eyes seeing down the road and YOU are always supposed to be aware of the road ahead.

It matters not whether a Kansas tornado drops a house belonging to a witch in the road, whether there's a baby in a box, or a fallen tree. It matters not whether a flash flood, shallow, deep, or any snow, ice, gravel, beer, or dead fish (it's happened) YOU are always supposed to have your vehicle
"""" #### under control #### """"
Click to expand...
Very well put!
 
StrokerScamp said:
I think a suit would boil down to whether you had knowledge the road was NOT plowed. Sounds like you knew.
Click to expand...

Sorry you haven't a leg to stand on Judge Judy would say.The weather was bad as you know and you knew what a shitty job the city does.You should of stayed home she would repeat.How ever your actions should get you some actrion on better road work.good luck.been there.
 
I can tell you that the city will tell you that snow removal is a service offered to its citizens, like street cleaning, leaf removal etc. This is a service that is furnished not a law requiring them conduct. The will also state that driving in any kind of weather is solely up the person operating the vehicle and not the responsibility of the city or any of its employees. They have no control over the weather or any problems that may arise.
 
I plowed for the city of Burlington for over 25 yrs. One thing I learned, law suits and lawyers are the main reason our city has no money. They all have learned how to C.Y.A., but at a cost of resources.
 
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