Council Mower smashed my windscreen.

[smptrds]

My local council were cutting grass down the centre reservation of our bypass. Their mechanical machine had a moveable long arm which has a large rotary cutter spinning at very high speeds.
Traffic was coned for us to use the nearside lane and at a reduced controlled speed.
It was a very warm July evening and I was out for dinner with my wife and a friend. There was no traffic in front of me nor was I by any public near enough to throw a missile.
A sudden loud bang shattered my windscreen and sent all three of us into shear shock. I held onto the car steering and within the next 10 minutes, I had dropped off our friend to keep our table, then returned to the scene to report my damage.
The site supervisor not only had me to sort out but also a large 4 x 4 land rover which had a large dent in it's rear wheel arch, again from the same machine.He could only apologize for our damages and commented that this is often happening as there are stone drainage systems which are hard to avoid throwing up missiles. He gave us his mobile number and told us to contact him if we have trouble in getting the council to pay for the damages.
Zurich Insurance (for the Council) state that the area was inspected for stones and debris and the machines were guarded. However, there could be debris stuck in the ground which are missed on inspection. They deny liability.
I have since spoken to the supervisor who has made a written statement that he was aware of my damage, but no more.
I have written statements from both the Council and Zurich that no other driver had made a claim for damages on the same day.
Is this unlawful if I can prove them 100% wrong and that they have deliberately lied to me?
I am unemployed through disabilities and cannot afford the £75 excess for the expensive heated windscreen. I will take them to court with my evidence if needed and prove them not only guilty of deceit but also operating a high revolving cutting machine, knowing about the chance of flying stones in such a short distance from moving traffic.
I have informed them both that had I been a split second sooner, that stone would have traveled through my open side window hit me in the head and could now be facing serious claims.
I cannot inform you about the evidence I have as this is still ongoing.

[boxtops]

Have you put your claim in writing to the council yet? If so this should be the first thing that you do. You may not have thought to do so at the time, but did you take any photos, did you exchange details with the 4x4 driver. Did you get the site supervisor's name as well as his telephone number?

The employee who gave you his number appears to have admitted liability but if nothing is in writing, and the other guy didn't make a claim yet, it may be difficult to prove. Have you still got that phone number?

[boxtops]

PS - you have written out a clear statement here of what happened. I used to work in insurance claims and our boss always said make sure you write it down as soon as it happens - some weeks down the line when your memory may be less sharp, it helps to refer back to this document.

As this happened three months ago now, I hope that you wrote straight away to the Council to register the claim.

[flip_flop]

I can't see how the council is liable. For any liability claim to be successful there has to be reasonable forseeability that an action could result in a consequence.

The council checked the area for loose stones. The area shouldn't be criticised with that of a bowling green. An unfound stone flicked up and caused damage.

I don't think it was reasonably forseeable that this would happen and therefore I'm not surprised Zurich have denied liability.

With respect, if you can't afford the £75 excess, how can you afford to take them to court?

[flip_flop]

"I have informed them both that had I been a split second sooner, that stone would have traveled through my open side window hit me in the head and could now be facing serious claims"

Irrelevant.

[smptrds]

To Boxtops:
Yes is my answer to all your questions and even after talking to the supervisor on the phone, he said that he is totally amazed his bosses are disputing liability.
We both have written statements to Zurich and as Mr ? has only just contacted me after being refused his claim, our statements of events are identical.
To Flip Flop:
Read my statement again, it states that they were cutting grass with a stone drainage system in the middle and as the supervisor was aware of these stones flying, why didn't the council shut down this stretch of road or hold up traffic while this particular area was being cut. It is obvious to me that they did not have the general public's safety at heart and I have even sent the details to the Council Safety officer who has promised to get back to me, guess what, he hasn't.
With regards to taking to court, I only do this if there is enough evidence to prove them wrong in both statements and operation/safety and we get our costs returned.
Question 1 to you, would you stand within 15 foot of this machine whilst in operation?
Question 2, Do you work for Zurich or the highways?
Question 3, Would you try to prevent this happening to any other member of the public or just walk away? It could be a motorbike rider next?
Question 4, Why is Zurich withholding the truth about our TWO claims, is this not a part admission to liability?

[flip_flop]

It still goes back to what is reasonably forseeable.

If it was reasonably forseeable that this type of incident would occur, then I would expect more cars to have been hit by flying stones than were not hit.

You were unlucky that your windscreen happened to have been hit. It could have been anyone's, but on that day at that time it was yours - but that doesn't automatically mean somebody else should have to pay.

Shrug you shoulders and move on.

[madmaggot]

A similar thing happened to a friend of mine except that his car was parked at the time. The council paid for him to have a new screen fitted but would not accept any liability for the loss of business because he couldn't use the car for a day. Are you covered for uninsured loss? Perhaps you should ask your insurance to look at this for you?

[jomifl]

I would have thought that it would be impossible to search thoroughly enough to find loose stones in grass long enough to need cutting. Therefore it would be inevitable that stones would be thrown up with a strong possibility of them hitting a passing vehicle. Whoever authorised the grass cutting had a duty of care to the public if it was in a public space. They should have ensured that either reasonable precations were in place or a different type of mower was used.