Homeowner INS and brick mailbox question

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  • charlie12

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    I was having a discussion with some folks about mailboxes. One had some girl knock down her mail box the other along with some other neighbors. Female didn't stop and was found when her busted oil pan cause her car to stop.

    Some suggested she put up a brick mailbox I guess to teach those drivers a lesson.

    Now the question. If she was to build a brick mailbox and someone hit it and was injured or killed would she be libel? And if she was would her homeowners Insurance cover her?

    I know we have one or two Ins people on here and LEOs.

    Thanks
     

    Magdump

    Don’t troll me bro!
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    LMAO... when people run into utility poles, is the power company held liable?
    I’m not a lawyer or a judge but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the driver is responsible for hitting things that are not in the roadway. Failure to maintain control comes to mind.
    As long as the mailbox is where it’s supposed to be, it’s just a mailbox.
    When it comes down to it, even a brick mailbox can be demolished by a vehicle. I have seen some folks near my home sink a steel post just before their mailbox to stop the pranksters from putting the bat to it. Pretty sure if someone hits one it’s on the driver. The only thing I can think of that might apply here is a movable left at the roadside. Leaving a car next to the road might leave the owner partially liable if someone hits it.
     

    charlie12

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    LMAO... when people run into utility poles, is the power company held liable?
    I’m not a lawyer or a judge but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the driver is responsible for hitting things that are not in the roadway. Failure to maintain control comes to mind.
    As long as the mailbox is where it’s supposed to be, it’s just a mailbox.
    When it comes down to it, even a brick mailbox can be demolished by a vehicle. I have seen some folks near my home sink a steel post just before their mailbox to stop the pranksters from putting the bat to it. Pretty sure if someone hits one it’s on the driver. The only thing I can think of that might apply here is a movable left at the roadside. Leaving a car next to the road might leave the owner partially liable if someone hits it.

    How many utility poles are 6 or 8 inches from the edge of the pavement? The mail box is in the right of way and there are Postal guidelines on how a mailbox is installed
     

    LACamper

    oldbie
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    IANAL but I am an insurance agent....

    As long as her mailbox is in the same placement as everyone else's I don't see an issue. I know of a home in Slidell that has a cast concrete mailbox (it looks like a dolphin).

    There was a guy in NO east that lived in a sharp curb. Cars ended up with drunk drivers in his bedroom three times. He built a planter with 6" concrete walls then covered it in landscape timbers. They scraped a half dozen cars off it but he was never sued.

    For your homeowner's liability to pay first you have to do something that you are liable for. I don't see how replacing your mailbox with a brick one (which is a common type of mailbox) would make you liable. Using a 12" I-beam with the mailbox welded on top is not in common use and might open you up a bit to a suit... not saying that they would win but you're improving their odds.

    BTW, brick mailboxes don't seem to survive any better than wood and they're more expensive to fix.
     

    N4sir

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    Many years ago pranksters were smashing mailboxes in my mother-in-law's neighborhood and after destroying hers quite a few times I put one up that would make the culprits feel the pain themselves. After all I was the one who would replace it each time with a new one. They would sometimes use baseball bats but the preferred method was to simply drive over them. With most being simple wood or aluminum posts it didn't take much to knock them down. Then I went to a junk yard and got an iron pipe 3 - 4 inches in diameter and about seven to eight feet long. Cleaned it up and gave it a nice paint job. Then I took a post hole digger and dug a deep hole, not able to get the hole deep enough I pounded it into the ground until I had the height I wanted and then filled the hole with concrete. At least if they hit it again it would damage their car or truck. There were a couple of hits on the mailbox after that but the post stood strong. Someone finally did hit it but it stopped them and all that was needed was to straighten the post.

    I almost forgot..... I also filled the pipe with concrete so that if hit it wouldn't just bend where hit. Lol......
     
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    Coyote5.0

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    https://www.mailboss.com/guide-usps-mailbox-regulations/



    • Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide. Steel or aluminum pipes with a 2-inch diameter are also acceptable.
    Doesn't mention brick. Could use 2 inch drill pipe as a pedestal and cement it five feet in the ground. I promise you if they hit that an oil pan will be the least of their problems. If you follow the Post Offices guidelines you should have some legal recourse if sued. And 2 inch pipe meets recommendations. And five feet meets the 24 inch depth minimum.
     

    J.Ellis

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    Your mailbox post is susposdely to break away if a car runs over it on *accident*. Unless you live on a private road not funded by the government.

    You could be liable for injuries sustained by a permanent fixture on the side of the road. If anyone ran into your mailbox and could prove they had greater injuries because your mail box was a permanent fixture then you could find your self in court for a lawsuit.
     

    charlie12

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    Your mailbox post is susposdely to break away if a car runs over it on *accident*. Unless you live on a private road not funded by the government.

    You could be liable for injuries sustained by a permanent fixture on the side of the road. If anyone ran into your mailbox and could prove they had greater injuries because your mail box was a permanent fixture then you could find your self in court for a lawsuit.

    Thank you that's the point I was getting to. And you see when the State repaves road now the construction company puts up break away post.
     

    charlie12

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    https://www.mailboss.com/guide-usps-mailbox-regulations/



    • Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide. Steel or aluminum pipes with a 2-inch diameter are also acceptable.
    Doesn't mention brick. Could use 2 inch drill pipe as a pedestal and cement it five feet in the ground. I promise you if they hit that an oil pan will be the least of their problems. If you follow the Post Offices guidelines you should have some legal recourse if sued. And 2 inch pipe meets recommendations. And five feet meets the 24 inch depth minimum.
    Installing the Post
    The best mailbox supports are stable but bend or fall away if a car hits them. The Federal Highway Administration recommends:

    A 4" x 4" wooden support or a 2"-diameter standard steel or aluminum pipe.
    Avoid unyielding and potentially dangerous supports, like heavy metal pipes, concrete posts, and farm equipment (e.g., milk cans filled with concrete).
    Bury your post no more than 24" deep.
     

    Barry J

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    And if you do it, make sure it is on your property and not on a right of way. I have a brick mailbox, but if I had to do it over, I would get one of those decorative posts made out of aluminum. Make a good base and bolt it down. If someone runs over it, unbolt the broken post and bolt on a new one.
     
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    charlie12

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    And if you do it, make sure it is on your property and not on a right of way. I have a brick mailbox, but if I had to do it over, I would get one of those decorative posts made out of aluminum. Make a good base and bolt it down. If someone runs over it, unbolt the broken post and bolt on a new one.

    The location I started this about was a rural location where the property line is probably 20' from the edge of the blacktop
     

    Barry J

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    Usually, power poles are put on the edge of the right of way, as far away from the road as possible. I remember one case where a drunk driver ran off the road and hit a pine tree in a front yard. He ended up in a wheel chair. Sued the homeowner for having a pine tree in his yard. Homeowner was found not liable. But his insurance company still had to hire a lawyer to fight it.
     

    machinedrummer

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    If the brick matches the house then the mailbox is considered an extension of your home and all liability will fall under the home policy. If it has power run to it then it also counts as square footage.
     

    mforsta

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    Several roads in the Denham Springs are have been repaved and each time the parish/state will come through and remove all decorative mail boxes. They have even removed the decorative street sign post HOA's have paid for and put up. They do this because for "safety and code" reasons. One subdivision which requires all the same mail box for each house, had all of the boxes removed from one road that got repaved. The contractor picked them up and trashed them. Each mail box cost over $300.
     

    Bangswitch

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    Sounds like the federal guidelines were designed to protect the motorists when mailboxes are posted in the right of way. I would venture to say a good enough lawyer would find a way to make the homeowner liable. Obviously it’s not cut and dry. But here my non-legal legal advice put what you want up for a mailbox because even if you followed the proper requirements to a *T*, if you are unlucky enough to be sued by an attorney who is good enough you still might get screwed. However I wouldn’t suggest posting something with the sole purpose retribution to the offending motorists. I believe you would be inviting in the wolves. My subdivision has brick mailboxes and I have noticed two that were hit. It appears the box stays together but doesn’t remain on its footer. The more I think about it I’m betting that’s intentional.
     

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