Call the police or traffic police
Under the Federal Law on Road Safety, an accident is defined as an event that occurs during vehicle movement on the road involving damage or injury to people, vehicles, structures, cargo, or other material harm. The definition frames who should be contacted in different scenarios.
Therefore, if an icicle or a chunk of snow falls onto a car while passing a building, the traffic police should be contacted. If the car is parked at an entrance, it is the police to call. In the case of any injuries, even minor, an ambulance should be summoned.
Collect evidence
Before responders arrive, photographs and video should document the damage from close and distance perspectives. Capture the roof and the surrounding facade from multiple angles. It is essential that the footage shows the date and time of the incident and also records the location, including the house number and street name, with nearby buildings in the frame.
Identify witnesses and obtain their contact numbers. It helps to note the positions of outdoor surveillance cameras, as their footage can help reconstruct the incident. When police arrive, they will prepare an on-site report noting visible damage and the estimated extent of the losses.
How to correctly estimate the amount of damage?
Expert commentary
Sergei Smirnov, lawyer
– The proper step is to engage an expert who can prepare a certificate of inspection for the damaged vehicle and calculate the cost of repairs. The responsible party should reimburse the investigation costs as well.
Call insurance?
The OSAGO policy typically does not cover such damage. If a hull policy exists, the case may qualify as insured and compensation could be pursued through the insurer.
Insurance providers may refuse in several scenarios:
- the vehicle was not insured for all types of damage, only for theft or liability, for example;
- the resulting damage was excluded from coverage in the policy;
- parking occurred in violation of traffic rules;
- the car was parked near a building with signs warning of ice or icicles or if there was a violation of traffic rules.
How to find the culprit?
If insurance payments seem unlikely, a claim for damages can be filed to seek compensation. The claim may be followed by court action, with an accompanying inquiry. It is important to identify the proper recipient of the claim and to act in a way that prevents delays or shifting blame. Depending on the situation, responsibility may lie with the management company, the building owner, or a tenant.
The owner is responsible for icicles or snow falling from the roof of a utility building. If the owner tries to blame the cleaner contracted by the building, one can determine ownership by obtaining a property excerpt from the State Registry at the MFC or via the State Services portal.
A block of snow from an apartment building should be claimed against the management company. If the property is leased or owned in a shared building arrangement, the name and contact details of the homeowners association or management entity are typically listed in the documentation.
In such cases, the Housing Reform resources provide avenues to find information about the management company by entering the address into the Housing Fund search tool.
Are they trying to pin the blame on you?
That can occur when warning signs for possible snow or icicles exist on the home. Yet such warnings do not absolve the management company of responsibility for inadequate roof cleaning. This falls under consumer protection rights, and the consumer may claim damages for poor service.
Notifying the management company about pursuing legal action could lead to a settlement; otherwise, court action may be pursued in most cases, with favorable outcomes possible for the claimant.
“It’s the renter’s fault!”
There are times when the management company shifts fault to the apartment balcony owner if the balcony was altered without authorization. Under article 290 of the Civil Code, unauthorized balcony modifications do not belong to common property, and the apartment owner may bear responsibility for cleaning and related damages. If the balcony is in standard condition, the management company should clear it of icicles promptly and compensate for damage.
Expert commentary
Sergey Smirnov, lawyer:
– Most likely a lawsuit will be necessary. The outcome can be favorable, but the process may take time. In many cases, management companies, HOAs, and municipal bodies resist paying voluntarily and prefer a court decision. This has both advantages and drawbacks.
The upside is that under consumer protection law, extra remedies may be available, including additional compensation or penalties. Courts generally accept such claims across housing maintenance bodies, whether private or public.
The distinction lies in how payments are issued: for a commercial entity, settlement might come through a bailiff or a writ of execution to a bank; for a budget institution, funds come from the municipal treasury.