The lawyer told how to achieve compensation for damage to property from the consequences of natural disasters

A powerful atmospheric front brought down an avalanche of precipitation on Moscow in two days, accompanied by a storm wind. Many low-lying places, including roads and yards, were flooded and trees fell. It is already clear that dozens of cars and other property of Muscovites have been damaged. Is it possible to compensate for the damage suffered, who is responsible for this and what needs to be done to receive compensation – MK found out.

Precipitation on July 18 and the following night in Moscow can indeed be called anomalous: according to some weather forecasters, we are talking about a three-month rainfall rate. The very weather that the filmmakers of the sixties sang about: “I am walking in Moscow”, “July rain” … But then the maximum that 99% of Muscovites could lose was a weekend suit, which, of course, would lose shape in a downpour. Unpleasant, but not devastating.

Now there are millions of cars in the capital, each of which can get wet, suffer from water hammer or even be littered with a fallen tree. Dozens of such cases have already been recorded on July 18 – according to official figures, these are 55 cars, including prestigious and expensive ones. For example, in Nikitsky Lane, the engine of an expensive car from a Muscovite was flooded and damaged by a water hammer, which filmed and published a view from the salon on the Internet.

And although such “tropical” showers and hurricanes happen 1-2 times a year, in general, about 1,500 cars annually suffer from fallen trees alone in Russia. The “regular” state mechanism for protecting citizens in this case is storm warnings: with the help of SMS and other means of warning, everyone is informed that a hurricane is expected and it is not recommended to park cars under trees and structures. By the way, the same warning will play its role when trying to get compensation later: if the tree was not emergency, bribes are smooth from the state, it warned you.

– In this situation, those who have insurance, which includes coverage of damage from adverse weather conditions, are best protected, – lawyer Ilya Afanasiev notes. – And the simplest case is damage to property by a fallen tree or some structure. The situation is more complicated with water hammer and similar damage to cars. Often in the rules of insurance, such cases are excluded from insurance coverage – then the matter becomes much more complicated.

Of course, by insurance we mean CASCO – insurance against theft and damage, but by no means obligatory OSAGO, the role of which is to compensate for the damage that the driver himself can cause to third parties. But even according to CASCO, it is not clear whether it will be possible to compensate for the damage from a water hammer. It depends, according to the expert, primarily on the conditions under which it occurred. If the car “drank” water with serious consequences on the section of the road where the storm sewer is clogged, then a claim can be made to the operating organization. If there is no “storm drain” in this area, you need to look to see if it should be there according to the project.

– If there is no storm sewer, and it should be there, the responsibility still lies with the operating organization, – says Afanasyev. – Because who exploits, he is responsible.

If a car or other property is not protected by insurance, but was damaged by a fallen tree, it is possible to receive compensation if the tree was emergency (rotten), the MK interlocutor emphasizes. However, in this case, in addition to an examination that determines the amount of damage, a dendrological examination will also be needed, which will answer the question about the condition of the tree before the incident.

– Registration of the incident should be started with the traffic police, if it happened on the roadway, – says the lawyer. – In the yard, in the parking lot or in similar places, you need to call the district police officer or the police by calling 112 or 102. After calling the police, immediately carefully record the situation. First, see if the scene of the incident falls into the field of view of security cameras. If there is, well, look where these cameras are located in order to leave a request by phone to the Moscow Department of Information Technologies to save the recordings.

Self-photo-video recording is also necessary, says Ilya Afanasiev. Moreover, you need to hurry with this – public utilities can quickly arrive at the scene and hide traces. You need to take a picture of the damage to the car and the tree itself – and with reference to the area, so that the house number, post, at least garbage containers get into the frame. It is obligatory to shoot a close-up of a broken tree to see if there is rot on it.

– Take more pictures, from different angles, – advises the expert. – The more photo fixations, the more. And remember: the case has good prospects if the tree was really emergency. By the way, if everything happened at the place of registration of a person, the event falls under the Consumer Rights Protection Law, and you can receive from the guilty party, that is, the management company, a fine of 50% of the amount of damage, as well as compensation for non-pecuniary damage – a small, but This is money.

True, as Afanasiev notes, it is quite difficult to do all the operations necessary for this on your own – most likely, you will need to involve a lawyer to receive compensation. The costs of it, as well as litigation, will be borne by the party that lost the process – however, in a “reasonable” amount, that is, the court can reduce the amount of compensation paid under this article.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29074 dated July 20, 2023

Newspaper headline:
I will spread the clouds for money