Real Property Damage

Property Damage Attorney Serving San Diego County

Property ownership is often a pivotal moment in any person’s life. It represents a new stage in life and includes various responsibilities concerning the maintenance and upkeep of the property. It is therefore disappointing and upsetting to discover that an individual’s actions have caused damage on your property. Property owners have a duty of care to protect visitors on their property up to a degree, but visitors and trespassers also have a duty to respect the property.

Real property damage can take many forms, but often includes:

• Fire damage
• Crop damage
• Foundation damage
• Water damage

Unintentional Individual Conduct

While many of these appear to be caused by natural disasters or other events, many damages can be traced to the actions of one individual or company.

For example, an individual or company could unintentionally start a wildfire. While their conduct was not willful in most situations, it could be considered reckless by a court depending on the circumstances. Their actions may lead to the destruction of your home, and therefore you could have a claim for real property damage.

Similarly, a neighbor who undertakes new construction on their own property could impact the drainage or foundation of your property, causing issues further down the road. It is important to understand the actions of various individuals prior to bringing an action for real property damage. An attorney may be able to assist in piecing together the timeline of events, and interviewing witnesses or experts concerning the actions leading to the damage. However, the best option is always to have accurate records of the damage and causation.

Insurance Company Intentions

While most property owners have insurance policies to cover certain events, not everything is covered by certain policies. Insurance companies are in the business of making money, and when damages occur (often due to environmental disasters), they include language in their policies to mitigate the financial repercussion to the insurance company. For example, homeowners in states prone to tropical storms and hurricanes may have flood insurance, but not hurricane insurance, or vice-versa. Therefore, if a flood occurs and the homeowner only has hurricane insurance, the insurance company will not cover the damage resulting from the flood.

If you are concerned about whether your insurance policy protects you after the damage has occurred on your real property, do not hesitate to speak with an attorney concerning your insurance policy. An attorney may also be able to better assist in your investigation of the underlying cause of your real property damage.

Recovery in a real property damage claim often hinges on the culpability of the responsible party and the general theory of negligence. You will often need to prove:

• A duty of care
• Breach of the duty of care
• The breach was the cause of the damage
• Damages

Call Our Real Property Damage Attorneys Today

If actions by government officials led to an impact on your real property after extreme floods and landslides, the government officials breached their duty of care to you – the real property owner. An attorney can help you develop your claim for damages after reviewing the facts of your real property damage. We at the Adler Law Group provide the support needed to handle your claim and help you receive the compensation you deserve.