If they arent responsible and I pay can I ... advice please??

I have had an incedent with my next door neighbors who are summer residents. They have a large tree on their property and many branches hang over our driveway and home. During a storm monday night a branch from this tree fell and has left cosmetic damage to the passenger side of my vehicle. If their homeowners insurance finds that they werent neglegent and wont cover it, I will not go through my own car insurance. But if I pay for it outright, or if I do use insurance and pay my 500$ deductible (there is at least $1000 worth of damage) can I then sue them in small claims for the amount of my deductible? There is nothing mechanically wrong with my vehicle and these dents although noticable, are not a tremendous deal, although I would like them repaired since my car is less then a year old. I just dont think i should be responsible to pay anything for this damage, even a deductable. Can I sue them for either that or cost of repairs in small claims.

I did file a claim with the police, and they came out to verify that this particular branch did cause the damage to my car, and that this branch did also fall from their tree. So I would have that as evidence along with pictures of my car, the tree, the limb, ect. And I have a video of those same things. All this to verify if needed.

You can simply sue them in small claims court if they will not take responsiblity and offer to pay you outright...they are probably waiting to see if their homeowners policy covers it...most neighbors know that a tree in their yard is something they are liable for, and I would believe they will pay you out of their own funds.

Just get an estimate of the cost to fix the vehicle to your satisfaction, get two or three if you can, and present them a copy of the estimate(s). They will send it it on to their insurance, and they will have been made aware of the fact that you want your vehicle repaired.

I doubt they will want to involve the courts, especially if they are going to the trouble of contacting their insurance company about it.

Technically if the branch is above your property, it is YOUR branch and your responsibility. Good luck. Report It

Yes to everything you said.

You can sue them but you may not win. If the tree was in otherwise good health, the limb was not rotten or it was not apparent that the limb was rotten, the tree owner may be found not to be negligent and the falling of the limb marked up to an "act of God".

Edit: Ugh Why do I always get thumbs down for this answer? It would appear to be a slam dunk based on common sense, so the homeowners should pay because if the owner loses in court they will anyway. But they didn't because common sense and the law don't always overlap. Got to my link (search "tree branch" if my link doesn't work) and see actual lawyers agree with me.