The night before last at around 9:00 PM I hit an obstruction in the local super walmart's parking lot while leaving. The obstruction was the remains of a concrete filled traffic cone that they used to mark a pothole which surrounded a recessed drainage grate. The orange rubber traffic cone had been removed from the concrete by numerous impacts and what remained was just a cone of concrete laying down in the drainage grate. I hit the cone hard enough that it stalled my vehicle and pushed the cone ~20 ft across the pavement. For those 20 feet the cone was "trapped" under my vehicle and the only way to free my vehicle from the cone was backing back up to the drainage grate so it would drop free.
Immediately afterward I returned to the walmart and filled out an accident report. An assistant manager came out and photographed my vehicle and the cone, grate and concrete marks across the pavement. Prior to photographing the cone he placed it back up on end and put the top remaining four inches of rubber traffic cone back on it.
He admitted that it had been hit numerous times and that the pothole had been reported to walmart corporate in the past. I commented that the cone would pose a greater hazard in the coming months when covered up by snow and he agreed. I have received a claim number from Casualty Management who handles walmart's insurance claims and am expecting a call back tomorrow.
I've photographed all of the visible damage on the vehicle that I can find which consists of:
I have yet to get estimates because it was a weekend and today a holiday but plan on doing so tomorrow. It'll obviously need a complete bumper, body work, alignment and possibly suspension parts.
I returned the next day to photograph the scene (after going home to get my camera) and the cone is now plastered in red reflective conspicuity tape.
Now, isn't walmart liable / negligent simply based on the fact they filled a pliable rubber traffic cone full of concrete and knew it posed a risk? From my research it seems that the "Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices" states traffic cones must be "made of a material that can be struck without causing damage to the impacting vehicle" and New York state has a supplement to the MUTCD enforcing it in private roadways and parking lots.
Any other tips if the insurance company doesn't want to pay? I've heard they're netoriously prone to automatically declining payment.
Immediately afterward I returned to the walmart and filled out an accident report. An assistant manager came out and photographed my vehicle and the cone, grate and concrete marks across the pavement. Prior to photographing the cone he placed it back up on end and put the top remaining four inches of rubber traffic cone back on it.
He admitted that it had been hit numerous times and that the pothole had been reported to walmart corporate in the past. I commented that the cone would pose a greater hazard in the coming months when covered up by snow and he agreed. I have received a claim number from Casualty Management who handles walmart's insurance claims and am expecting a call back tomorrow.
I've photographed all of the visible damage on the vehicle that I can find which consists of:
- A visibly bent front lower passengers strut assembly.
- A crack through the fiberglass bumper cover.
- Cracked foam backing to the bumper cover.
- Front bumper broken loose from mounting and barely attached (video demo recorded)
- Tail pipe intact but connection to muffler broken free.
I have yet to get estimates because it was a weekend and today a holiday but plan on doing so tomorrow. It'll obviously need a complete bumper, body work, alignment and possibly suspension parts.
I returned the next day to photograph the scene (after going home to get my camera) and the cone is now plastered in red reflective conspicuity tape.
Now, isn't walmart liable / negligent simply based on the fact they filled a pliable rubber traffic cone full of concrete and knew it posed a risk? From my research it seems that the "Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices" states traffic cones must be "made of a material that can be struck without causing damage to the impacting vehicle" and New York state has a supplement to the MUTCD enforcing it in private roadways and parking lots.
Any other tips if the insurance company doesn't want to pay? I've heard they're netoriously prone to automatically declining payment.
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