Truck-struck home 5 years waiting on Home Services

Mar

Truck-struck home 5 years waiting

posted by admin in Home Inspection

ONE BAYVILLE RESIDENT is wondering when she will finally be compensated for the damage done to her home after a truck drove into it five years ago.

Roberta Phillips told the DAILY NATION that after engaging the services of three lawyers, having two estimates done, one costing $400, and sending several letters to the owner of the truck, she has had no positive results.

Phillips said she was now at her wits’ end since the statute of limitations on the accident was about to run out. The accident took place April 23, 2003.

The wall structure has been shifted by an inch and cracks caused by the crash were presenting problems in more ways than one, Phillips said.

“My home is my registered place of business. I do graphic design, but I can’t let clients come to my home in the state it is in now. So I had to move all my equipment to a friend’s house.

“It is very frustrating because when paint comes off soft stone you get lots of dust. I am always sweeping and mopping, sweeping and mopping but it is not helping and I am stuffy all the time. I even had to relocate to another bedroom,” said Phillips.

She said when she contacted the truck owner, Jeff Kinch, he said he would repair the damage. Later met with her father and told him that the insurance would cover the damage; but so far nothing has been done. Three lawyers had written Kinch but no progress had been made, she said.

“The longer I wait the worse it gets. The estimate I paid for said it would be about $100 000 to demolish and rebuild.”

Phillips is now in the process of having the writ which she paid $2 500 for filed in court.

When the DAILY NATION reached Kinch, he said the incident was unfortunate as a man who had gained his trust as a handyman took one of his vehicles without permission, visited a girlfriend in the Bayland, and left there angry and in the process wrote off a car, his truck and damaged Phillips’ house.

He said while his insurance would not cover the repairs to the home, he was committed to repairing the house still and was not concerned about the statute of limitations.

“I have given my word that I will repair it, but some circumstances have prevented me from doing it as soon as I would have liked to. But I will fix her home. I gave her that commitment and I am standing by it,” said Kinch.

He added that because of the type of home which she had, he could not use just any workman and he was in the process of finding the right people to do the job and he would do it out of his pocket.

Tags: anc, business, estimates, insurance, Lawyer, lt