Garbage Truck Hit My Fence…Now What?

Chores come to mind when I think of collecting the trash. Part of those chores are on a weekly basis pulling those big grey, green or blue trash bins out to the alley or street.

Thankfully we have them and don’t have to haul our own trash somewhere. We have the convenience of garbage trucks picking up the bins and dumping them in the truck to be hauled off.

Garbage trucks are very big and hold a lot of our trash. It’s no wonder when the alley is narrow the garbage trucks hit my fence and damaged some of the cedar pickets. Some of the alleys are narrow and corners are sharp so much so it takes a lot to maneuver a big garbage truck around them.

With the costs of a cedar fence rising so much in the last few years when a garbage truck hits my fence I can say it’s not a great day! Being in the fence industry for over 18+ years there isn’t much we haven’t seen or experienced from homeowners. Fences are there for protection, for keeping our pets in as well as our children playing in the backyard.

It can be frustrating to have the fence damaged by the garbage truck.  Hopefully if this happens it’s just a small repair however, it could be a huge repair when the trash truck backs into the fence and knocks a section of the fence out.

Fence Pickets Replaced 

Usually the fence pickets will need to be replaced as well as stained to match the rest of the fence.

The other part of the garbage truck that could potentially damage the fence is the arm on the side of the truck.  This arm seems to fling down to grab the trash bins with 2 claws picks the trash bin up and over the top of the truck and the trash falls inside.

Sometimes this trash may not hit the hole in the top of the truck and flies back out hitting the cedar or pine fence pickets.  Leaving dings or dents. Possibly cracked fence pickets.

These arms as I have watched them can be very jerky and when the trash bin comes back down from the top almost throws the trash bin to the ground which in turn can hit the fence and damage it.

I have also seen where a trash bin was in the street and a portable basketball hoop was next to it and the arm on the trash truck picked the trash bin and basketball hoop up at the same time.  When the hoop and trash bin came back down the basketball hoop was destroyed.

The next question to ask is…

Over the years in this business we have had homeowners  have to fight the company that hit the fence.  It seems no one wants to take the blame and step up to pay for the repairs. It is not the homeowners fault. Unfortunately if the homeowner needs the fence repaired quickly because of a pool in the backyard, they may have to take it upon themselves to get it repaired or replaced.

Submitting the bill to the party at fault could be a problem as most small business may not carry general liability insurance to cover that. Even if they do most small businesses do not want to file because it may increase there premiums.

Here is a great resource to answer your Who Pays for The Repairs. Texas State Law Library.

Usually the very last resort is to either hire an attorney to collect the debt or go to small claims court yourself.  Neither one of these options is the best however it may be the only way to collect the damages caused by the fault of the garbage truck driver.

Of course if you choose to go to small claims court make sure you have all the documentation, date and time of damage, video if you have it (sometimes the neighbors video shows the best angle) and any other items necessary to win the case.

Since we are not attorney’s there might be other items necessary to try the case. It is the homeowners responsibility to follow through with the damaged fence.

If you need a second, third or fourth opinion of the fence damage feel free to fill out our Free Estimate Form to schedule one of our experienced estimators to come out to your home and look at the damage. The estimator will offer a few options as well as give you a written estimate if needed for the insurance company or court.

For faster service call us now at 972-769-2555  Some of the areas we work in are McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Plano and surrounding cities!