Mitigation of Damages- Hey, they hit me and I have to help them?
Mitigation of damages is a concept that is used in both Tort and Contact Law. This concept explains when there is a loss (either a tort or a contract breached), the party that has been wronged will have an affirmative duty to do whatever they can do avoid even a bigger loss.
For example, if Mr. Drunken Guy hits my car, I would have a duty to move the car out of the street and put it in a safe place where the elements would not cause even more damage to it. If I failed to do this, then a court could punish me for leaving the car and waiting for the insurance company or Mr. Drunken Guy to fix it.
The courts seem to believe that they are protecting the overall society by avoiding waste. In Many claims that I handled there were many people that would try to hurt the insurance company or the person that hit them by not allowing them to inspect or by leaving the car in a tow yard accruing storage charges. These cases were deliberate attempts to “get even” with the insurance carrier, however the insurance company would just deduct from the bill of repairs the amount that could have been avoided and quoted this as a mitigation of damages issue.
If you are ever in a position where you need to tow a vehicle out of a storage facility but you simply cannot afford it and the insurance carrier is dragging their feet, the best thing you can do is write a letter to the insurance company and tell them that you cannot possible mitigate your damages. That you are not at fault for the accident and you simply cannot move the vehicle. If they cannot contribute or help you in mitigating your damages, then you cannot be held responsible for anything else. This will get them moving.
