Hypothetical - Gate And Car Bump

[joko]

this happened to someone i know years ago - and i was just wondering who actually would be considered responsible.

a person in a car going out of an automated wooden gate.
the gate opened slowly, and once it was fully open the car starts to move forward - however right at the last second the gate hits the back post and unexpectedly sort of goes kerdunk and bounces backwards a good foot or so, into the path of the car - smashing the headlight.

it didnt bounce back with much force, it was because the car was moving and hit the edge of the gate head on, stopping the car - if the car had been going faster, the gate would have hit the side of the car and bounced off, and probably caused no damage - other than perhaps a scratch.

the gate was apparently damaged and the headlight was smashed

nothing was ever done about it

but i'm just wondering if the car could have claimed from the gate owner? or the gate owner claim from the car driver?
or would it be classed almost as 'bump for bump' and both equally liable

i supposed the gate owner cannot help the mechanism - unless he installed some kind of magnets or something to stop the bounce back.
or perhaps a sign to warn of bounce back?

and the car understandably saw the way was clear and wouldn't expect such a sudden bounce back

this was on the gate owners property.

any thoughts?

thanks

[jno]

I don't suppose the gate owner has any right to hit other people's cars with a hammer, so he doesn't have any right to hit them with a gate. But there are other considerations, eg was this an unpredictable malfunction or normal action by the gate that nobody warned the driver about?

[Nibble]

when I worked in insurance, the yardstick was whether a circumstance likely to cause injury or damage was "reasonably foreseeable" when determining negligence - was the gate springing back a reasonably foreseeable action?

[boxtops]

Sorry - that was me not him ^^

[joko]

hi thanks all - i dont think anyone really 'expects' a gate to bounce back do they? - although i know they occasionally do i suppose.
there was no warnings or anything like that - it was on a farm.

i was curious because the gate suffered some damage - i assume to the opening mechanism etc - maybe a few scuff marks on the wood, but it was structurally in one piece.

the car hit the gate really right on the edge - rather than the gate hitting the car - it made the car stop quite suddenly - it wasnt like the gate whacked the vehicle - it just bounced into the path of it with just an inch to spare, if you get me.

[RATTER15]

Personally, I would have said the owner of the gate would be liable.

[joko]

she said that later the owner mentioned it to her, implied it had caused a lot of damage and would cost a lot, and she felt like he was saying it in such a way as though to blame her, and was possibly hoping she'd offer money or something...
She didnt, she just explained what had happened and said how it had broken her light.
he apparently seemed to leave it at that, but perhaps he knew he didnt have a leg to stand on legally and was worried that actually if he pushed it he may end up having to pay for her car!?

this was years ago so details are sketchy.

[Iggle Piggle]

Personally I would expect once the gate was open and the way ahead clear, it would remain so until the car had passed through. Any other event would be the fault of the gate or the owner of such. Think of a manual gate, if the farmer had opened the gate himself for the car and it caught his boot and bounced back ...

[dzug2]

You could equally well argue that the car driver was impatient and didn't wait to ensure the gate was properly open before proceeding