One thing you can depend on in Miami is the seemingly random yet heavy rainstorms. You may have implemented the proper protections throughout your property to prepare for potential flooding incidents. So you may understandably be frustrated if your neighbor does not practice the same amount of care, and flooding on their premises leads to damage to yours. Your neighbor may not be held liable for a natural runoff. However, they may be if they unreasonably landscaped or reconstructed their premises, failed to rectify clogged gutters, forgot to turn off their heavy-duty sprinkler system, etc. With all these things considered, please continue reading to learn what to do if your property gets flooded due to something caused by your neighbor’s property, and how an experienced Miami flood damage lawyer at the Law Offices of Gonzalo Funes, PA, can help you sort out this situation.
What should I do if I get flood damage from someone else’s property?
The first thought that may come to your mind is that you do not want to pay to repair the flood damage to your property that originated from a neighbor’s premises. This is when you may turn to your homeowners’ insurance company for aid. For this, you should collect as much proof of the flood damage as possible, including photos and videos that also encapsulate the source of the flooding. Also, you may record any communication between you and the neighbor responsible for the origin of this flooding, in which they hopefully admit fault.
You may then take this evidence to your insurance, and they may initiate subrogation on your behalf. That is, subrogation is when your insurance exercises its right to recoup the payout it gave you for your covered flood damage claim from the insurance company of the party responsible for the damage in the first place. This reimbursement can also cover your deductible and other out-of-pocket expenses. The reasoning behind this is that your insurance may not want to incur a cost when they were not at fault for the loss.
What if my insurance coverage does not work for my flood damage?
Your homeowners’ insurance company may be unsuccessful in executing subrogation with the other party’s insurance company. With this, they may be stuck with the cost of your insurance claim payout. If this happens, you may have the right to pursue compensation independently and directly, to recover the cost of your deductible and other out-of-pocket expenses. First, you may attempt to negotiate a settlement agreement with your neighbor through the process of mediation or arbitration.
If your neighbor is unwilling to negotiate in this civilized manner, you may take up a formal complaint with your local government or environmental protection agency. Your complaint may outline the landscape or development that caused this flooding and damage to arise, and the agency may commence an investigation and enforcement action to ensure such an incident does not happen again.
Lastly, if all else fails, you may find the confidence in yourself and your case to file a negligence claim against your responsible neighbor. Here, a civil court may determine whether your neighbor indeed displayed carelessness, recklessness, and negligence, and if so, order them to pay compensatory damages.
Before you find yourself in an even worse position, you must retain legal representation from the Law Offices of Gonzalo Funes, PA. A skilled Miami property damage lawyer from our law firm will guide you on what to do.
