Automatic Gate - Car Damage

The law in Washington State provides for an apportionment of responsibility for damages in some cases. The questions include 1. who had what duty of ordinary care, 2. whether anybody breached their duty of ordinary care, 3. whether anybody's breach of duty was the proximate cause of damages, and 4. the extent of the damages.

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Hi, I'm sorry to hear that this happend to you. Surprisingly enough, these "he said, she said" issues can be difficult and time consuming. If the facts are as you say, then probably the driver is responsible for his own damages. If the facts are as he says and your gate was malfunctioning, then you may be responsible. Your best bet is to turn it over to your homeowners and let them deal with it. I really don't think this is going to be worth it to you to spend much time on. Good luck.

Take the driver to small claims court for the damage to your gate

Most gates have an electric eye and local ordinance/rules may mandate same, that being said if the driver was negligent and the negligence caused the damage the driver likely must pay for the costs of repairs.

It's your gate and it does not have a sensor to come to a stop when a car or person is in the way? Could be 18 years ago that feature was not state of the art, it is now. Look why argue, report it to your Homeowners insurer and see if they will handle it. That or offer to pay the friend's collision deductible or offer to pay some. But argue about it? I could offer you a retainer deal where you pay me say 10k so you can call my office direct for advice, but I'm afraid I'd laugh too much.

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