On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:35:49 GMT, "Toller" wrote:


My son drove my car into a ditch. The tow truck operator winched it out,
but slightly damaged a panel. He pointed it out and said it was
unavoidable. It isn't much, but any sheet metal damage is expensive to
fix.

The car was a 2001 Golf in perfect condition.
There was no damage from going in the ditch.
The damage was a slightly bent panel behind the driver's front wheel, and
damage to the paint there. My insurance would go up way too much to file a
claim on it.
There is a responsible witness to the operators pointing out the damage he
had done.
Legally, the liability is clear; that is not the issue.

Several people have implied that I am a lousy father for letting my son
avoid his responsibilty; but that is largely the issue. If the tow truck
operator is responsible, then my son is not (and visa-versa). I want to
hold the right party responsibilty. Eventhough I could recover from the tow
truck company, I don't want to do it if it is wrong.


The two are severable. Your son *IS* responsible.
Ideally, it would be a point of pride in him to repair any
damage to the car while it was in his care, even if he *DIDN'T*
do anything wrong, but that's a little much to expect in today's
world.
The tow-truck driver may also be responsible. (Although, if he is,
it's to the son, not to you.) In any case, you are unlikely to
recover enough money to make going after the tow-truck company
financially rewarding. If you think they are ACTUALLY, as opposed
to possibly legally responsible, (as in, they chose to haul the car
out between two cement bollards instead of the other way) you might
want to go after them out of vindictiveness, but if you have to ask
here, you're nowhere near sure enough to make that reasonable.