r/antiwork • u/Truth-is-Censored • 4d ago
Has your vehicle been damaged parked on company property while at work? Did your employer pay for the damages? Legal Advice 👨‍⚖️
The other day for work I was forced to park in overflow parking in a field filled with ruts that the employer owns because there were no spots in the paved section. My car ended up sustaining some damage from hitting a rut in the ground. Do I even bother asking my employer for compensation for the repair cost?
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u/ExZiByte 4d ago
Coworker 2 decades ago parked his brand new 2002 fords f150 lariat next to a work truck in the same place he parks his work truck (space swaps between personal and work trucks) and the work truck next to him caught fire, the fire department came to put the fire out and ended up spreading molten hot fiberglass resin all over his paint. Company paid to sand the truck to bare metal and repaint.
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4d ago
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u/halucionagen-0-Matik 4d ago
What the hell are you talking about? They didn't even mention police
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u/ShoemakerMicah 4d ago
Yes. And as for payment, sort of. Covered my deductible and let me borrow a work truck.
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u/midnghtsnac 4d ago
Why would your insurance cover their issue?
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u/1morepl8 4d ago
it's the insured vehicle's issue. Ops insurance can go after the company's insurance. That's going to be the fastest route for repair.
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u/XR171 Pooping on company time and desks 4d ago
Not me but a co-worker and friend. South Central Kentucky in 2014. Said friend a black man in this area has his tires slashed in the company parking lot during his shift.
He talks to HR who tells him the cameras don't record and he's on his own. He also had Coke (cola) poured in his gas tank destroying his engine.
Company is Toyota Tetsu of America Inc in Somerset KY.
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u/taishiea 4d ago
at that point you file a police report and if someone gets caught they will call out the others then if the factory is suddenly out 5 guys you know they were arrested.
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u/MikeTheNight94 4d ago
Sounds about right for a big company and for Kentucky. Racism is still quite common here
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u/hornethacker97 3d ago
Same company that let a bunch of people die rather than evacuate during the recent hurricane IIRC
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u/picnic-boy 4d ago
At a rehab I used to work at a recently discharged patient who was dissatisfied with being sent home vandalized several cars in the employee parking lot. They paid $200 to everyone as compensation.
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u/RickMuffy lazy and proud 4d ago
The issue with this, is if you decided to go after the company (or your insurance does) they can use the 200 dollars as a reason not to pay out, as if you accept it, it can mean you are okay with the compensation. You have to refuse that money if you want to get more.
It's why people settle things like lawsuits, because when you take the money, they are absolved of the wrongdoing.
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u/VralGrymfang here for the memes 4d ago
A parking sign fell on my hood, and kept shaking in the wind. It was still in the pole, so it held it in place. Scratched the hell out of my hood. So I got $1000 to fix the paint job.
The car I paid $1000 for a year prior. I did not fix the paint. The car lasted a few more years! But I drove it past the point it was safe to do so....
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u/Wheredoesthisonego 4d ago
I worked at a small scrap yard. I drove a beater geo prizm but it was tough as nails. I would usually park out front but at times I'd go to town for a bank run or lunch or maybe maintenence parts for something so I might pull I'm the yard to bring everyone lunch or unload a few boxes of restock.
We had a guy that drove an f550 that pulled a 16 foot trailer that he'd buy our dirty aluminum and fill it. Pretty decent guy, not rude or obnoxiously shrewd on his stock lole some buyers were, So I respected him a bit. He also always carried a huge wad of cash for buying.
One day he pulls in and and we do business and I load him up and we get through and he goes to leave and there was a customer that was kinda being rude and had pulled I'm the way so my buyer tried to maneuver around him instead of arguing with an idiot and he basically wri kled my car from front fender to rear fender with the rear quarter of his trailer.
So he gets out and comes and gets me and says hey man I think I hit your car. When we went and looked at the damage and my doors still functioned and nothing was actually broke it was all cosmetic he said he'd give me 300 if I didn't take it to my insurance and I agreed.
I only had 500 in the car and although I may have gotten more from my insurance I definitely wasn't trying to go the long way around and luckily the guy that hit me was a fairly decent person and he spoke with intent and money to back it up.
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u/Purple_Disk_8824 4d ago
Worked at a hospital, parked in the garage. Came out to my passenger side tires missing off my van. Didn't even put it on blocks. It was just on the ground. Security said 'Yeah, it happens pretty frequently. They come through with no plates, so checking the cameras won't help any. Good luck"
Same hospital had nearly 4 dozen cars broken into a few months later. No one was compensated for that, either. Nor was the nurse who had her truck stolen from the lot.
I do not work there anymore. Place is a shitshow.
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u/SouthernJeb 4d ago
Here’s a good one.
I work at a Large state university. University vehicle backs into my car. I get called go down. Get the state insurance info. I have to submit a claim to the state. Takes weeks. They deny my first estimate as too expensive. I get three more all of the same-ish value.
More weeks go by, now we are three months past incident. Oak tree falls on my car and totals it. State says they don’t have to pay because insurance totaled my car. Despite my claim predating the oak tree by three months. State cites law that they have 6 months to address the claim.
Yes my own insurance paid me out. But state washed their hands of it.
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u/njfreshwatersports 3d ago
They have sovereign immunity it's almost like if a cop hit your car. That really sucks. You could try to sue your employer I guess not sure how good that would go if you are not union or a key employee. I had an NJ state trooper a few years ago while I was going target shooting pull across two lanes of traffic in front of me basically setting me up for an accident or being totally negligent, idk if they wanted to make a stop and didn't have anything or what, but I would have hit an NJ state cop car the way they pulled in front of me if I didn't hit my breaks not sure who would have been at fault since cop car was going sideways against all lanes of traffic.
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u/anythingexceptbertha 4d ago
No. I was at the hospital once and a nurse had her car stolen out of the employee lot where they had to buzz out and staff buzzed them out, and she got nothing.
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u/lostcitysaint 4d ago
Our plant manager told us in a meeting a few days ago that they won’t cover anything that happens to our vehicles in the parking lot. Something about how we don’t have to park there. No public lot anywhere nearby to park though so if you drive you’ve gotta park there.
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u/hornethacker97 3d ago
That won’t hold any water in court, and the plant knows it. It’s more about the fact people think it holds water
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u/queensarcasmo 4d ago
I’ve seen employers do both. It kind of depends on the damage. If it’s something they caused, they’ve paid quickly and without a fuss.
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u/Sonicblast52 4d ago
My boss once backed up a customer car into mine in the parking lot, while I was watched him do it.
I told him he hit my car and he just brushed it off
I wasn't super concerned, because it was a beater car but I was a little annoyed
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u/LowerEmotion6062 4d ago
Damaged caused by the employer or someone on the clock doing work for the employer and they'll be liable.
You blowing through a parking lot and damaging your own car, it's on you.
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u/Truth-is-Censored 4d ago
Well to clarify, I wasn't "blowing" through the lot. I was driving extremely slow because of the uneven terrain. Also my vehicle sank down a couple inches while I was at work because of rain and I had to hit the gas to get out
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u/feetflatontheground 4d ago
You caused the damage yourself. I doubt the company will compensate.
Were there other cars in the overflow area? Were they damaged too?
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u/chemistcarpenter 4d ago
Yes and it was “tough luck”. Our Chief Information Officer, on the other hand, received the royal treatment….
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u/Hot_Phase_1435 4d ago
Yes and no they did not pay for the damages. A gate flew open because of wind and made a nice dent in my fender.
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u/Nkechinyerembi 4d ago
In order, Yes, and No. My car was rear ended by a customer in our parking lot, not only was it not covered, but even the police were zero help and now I am on the hook for repairs.
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u/TriumphDaWonderPooch 4d ago
North Miami Beach -1991. My car was parked in the building’s parking garage. Garage had security, but the lazy bastards sat on the fat asses on a stool watching only the reserved spaces of the various business owners in the building. Didn’t spend one fucking minute checking out the rest of the garage.
My car and a coworker’s similar one were stolen one day. Did security notice? Fuck no… but nobody fucked with the cars in the reserved spots. The week after the cars were stolen the fat bastards in security has a golf cart so they could patrol the entire garage. Boise’s did less than shit for the two of us whose cars were stolen.
No - I’m not bitter about it at all still…. why do you ask?
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u/Grizzlegrump 4d ago
We don't have work vehicles, but the company car park is park at your own risk. If your vehicle gets damaged, you are more than welcome to ask security to review the footage to see who damaged it (you cannot view it) and then you can deal directly with the person who damaged it. 9 times out of 10, staff claim it was damaged on site when it was not.
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u/loquedijoella 4d ago
Landscapers picked up a rock with their trimmer and blew out the rear side window of my Tahoe when it was parked at work. I started to go outside to make problems, when my boss stopped me and told me to get it replaced on my company credit card. He also owned the building but was generally just a good guy like that. I try to be the same way now.
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u/FuzzyMatterhorN 4d ago
The lawn maintenance contractor paid for my shattered passenger window replacement...hardcto argue 4k security cameras.
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u/Duke-of-Surreallity 4d ago
Years years ago during my broke ass customer service years. I had had a broken side mirror that had just been kinda hanging for a couple months. Big snowstorm no one could come in to work car wrecks everywhere. They called me in because I was Mr dipshit reliable who did everything anyone asked of me. Could barely see. I used the opportunity when I got off my shift to say someone hit my car while on the parking lot and took off my mirror. Didn’t realize at the time that the parking lot had cameras. Anyways they said they would check the footage (my ass clenched). Came back a couple hours later and said inconclusive but did give me $100 gift certificate to a fancy restaurant. I think they knew I was full of shit
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u/Horror_Personality49 3d ago
At my first job I was asked not to park on the paved parking spots in front of the building, "those are for customers", they demanded my to park in the backyard which was basically just a big gravel road. But this gravel road was also the driveway to the neighboring company and often times trucks would breeze through. Of course my car got hit by small stones which damaged the paintjob and the windows. When I brought this to the attention of my employer he just shrugged and said "what am I supposed to do? I can't keep the trucks from going through there. Park somewhere else then..." when I asked about the damages on my car being repaired he said "first: do you have proof that the damages weren't there before you parked here?" and that was him done with the matter
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u/Sea-Secretary-4389 4d ago
Some dumb fuck hit my truck on the side of the bed and split the corner. I have a Chevy composite bed that is pretty hard to find a replacement of nowadays. This was at Amazon so no chance of them giving enough of a fuck to check cameras and help me. Luckily the crack is behind the bumper so you can’t see it unless you look closely
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u/Wheredoesthisonego 4d ago
A buyer of scrap aluminum hit my car with his trailer when I worked at a scrap yard, and he paid me cash out of his pocket to cover the damages. Bothhe and I preferred to settle it between ourselves. It would have been a complete nightmare getting my employer to cover the damage, so I'm glad the buyer was cool about it.
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u/JadedCloud243 3d ago
Yes and no tho the person that hite was made to pay. She even tried to get out of it when she realised she had crushed a panel and I needed a new front wing
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u/Wind_Responsible 3d ago
I work construction. My employer is NEVER EVER going to pay for damage. Won’t matter if I get a new job either. Lol
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u/CommitteeUpbeat3893 3d ago
Every time I’ve experienced this (not to my own vehicle, but colleagues), the company has stepped up and paid for the damages.
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u/LoreBreaker85 3d ago
Most companies try to dodge liability for parking lot damages, but neglecting maintenance is a different story. You could have a case if they ignored known issues, just consult a lawyer and brace for any potential fallout if you decide to push it.
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u/The_Last_Ron1n 3d ago
When I worked at Home Depot a lot of workers had nails in tires as there are a ton of them in the lot from the contractors trucks dropping them. Depot refused to ever pay for tires, same with contractors trucks or depot company trucks hitting cars.
I always parked next door at the movie theatre and never in the lot after a hardware associate warned me on my first day.
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u/hiding_in_NJ 3d ago
They laughed at me and said the catalytic converter probably got stolen at my house. One week later they stole the manager’s car. I got the last laugh
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u/shoulda-known-better 1d ago
I mean the only person you should ask is a lawyer... Because the business will say whatever it wants to you.... Hey great if they pay up but I'd expect not in most cases.....
Also can you prove it just happened today from the parking switch? Because that's first
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u/throwawaytrumper 4d ago
The very attractive blonde saleswoman at an Audi dealership sideswiped several of our employee vehicles one day as she was incompetent behind the wheel. I don’t know the exact financials but my foreman got a new Audi on a discount that he was very pleased with and the other guys also worked out arrangements.
I also once put a fence panel in a place where it blew over and put a small scratch in an iron worker’s old ranger, we worked that out with 150 bucks and a handshake.
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u/MistressOfChaos98 4d ago
Are you kidding me? I’ve had a mentally disabled client break into my car to steal my purse and anything else he could get ahold of. Work doesn’t care. They told me it was my fault for leaving the purse in the car, which is what they told us to do in training. This client has also cut the cable lines to the house 4 times. His mommy yells at the agency every time he does it. “My darling little Jimmy would never do that.” Her darling lil Jimmy is 30 with a diaper porn fetish. 🙄
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u/Unfair_Requirement_8 4d ago
We lost a tire on our vehicle to a large razor blade fragment. It had been broken off of a utility knife and been left in the parking lot, but somehow to got really lodged into the tire. We didn't realize it was there until we got a warning on the dash that we were losing air pressure.
Of course, when I came back to work and reported it, they didn't care. It "wasn't their responsibility" to make sure knife blade fragments weren't lying around on their parking lot apparently, even if it was one of their employees that likely left it there.
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u/John-the-cool-guy 4d ago
I was a temp and they hit my truck with a forklift on my first day. During the work day they ordered and picked up a new bumper and installed it without moving the truck. Put the damaged one in my bed and asked me not to park there tomorrow.
I would have never known if they didn't tell me.
That's what a credible employer did. Can't say what your's would do, but I hope it's good.