Turned into my works drive at 6am this morning, There are speed bumps so slowed up for them. When I went over the las one saw what looked like a small branch on the road(road surrounded by trees).
When I drove on there was an almighty bang on the passenger.side. Turns out I'd hit a part of the suspension/springs off of one of the works vans. It flicked up a put what looks like a bullet hole in the passeger door. This bit of metal is flat about 3 ft long and weighs at least 7 or 8 pounds.
Basically the van had been used the night before although it was booked into the garage for repairs and this bit must have fallen off. Are their insurance liable for this?
Alasdair

Yes is the simple answer. If any part of a vehicle or its load falls from it and causes damage to a following vehicle then then the vehicle fell off is liable.

Been there, seen it, done it, as I was the vehicle who once fell foul of this. The spare wheel of my Fiesta some year back, fell out of the hanger it sat in at the back of the car. Cost me £175 for two new wheels and tyres for a crappy Cavalier. Even though it was a complete accident there was no way out I'm afraid.

The only problem you might have is proving it came off the truck you say it did. The truck's insurers aren't likely to roll over at the first opportunity.

[Edited by Reffro - 2/24/2003 3:16:33 PM]

Cheers m8
No problem proving what motor it came from as it was the last one up the drive and it had the bit missing from it. Got 2 people to check under the van with me.
Alas

Your're not going to believe whats happened now.
Get to my work this morning and sitting there is the offending van. Look underneath and new springs fitted to one side. I asked the maintenance guy and was told yes a spring was broken on this van but the bit was only about 6 inches long so could not be the one that hit your car. Went to the garage it was repaired at and mechanic said the same thing, surprisingly the broken spring had been uplifted in a skip and could not be inspected. This mechanic does all the work for the works vans and probably does not want to lose the business.
So now they are denying they are to blame.
What a bunch of b****rds. Still thinking what to do next. Going to be £200 to fix so not worth claiming on my insurance. Got a meeting with the boss so see what happens there.
Alasdair

Hope it goes well. They should cough up the dough to fix your car.
Personally if I was in a similar situation with my company then I would threaten to quit unless they footed the blantently-their-fault bill.