Car Damaged by an Apartment Complex Gate in Florida

Q: Can you sue an apartment complex when its gate damages your car?

You can bring a claim, but it is an ordinary negligence claim rather than an automatic one. You have to show the complex owed a duty of reasonable care over the gate, that it failed in that duty, and that the failure caused the damage. Florida's transitory-substance slip-and-fall statute does not apply to a mechanical failure like this. A residential landlord's maintenance obligations under Fla. Stat. § 83.51(1) can help establish the duty owed to a tenant, but the case is usually won or lost on notice — service records, repeated repairs, prior complaints — rather than on the statute.

Q: Does having no collision coverage stop you from recovering property damage?

No. Collision and comprehensive coverage pay your own repair regardless of fault; they are a convenience, not a precondition to holding someone else responsible. Without them you cannot have your own insurer advance the repair and pursue the other side for reimbursement, so you carry the claim yourself and wait longer for payment. The absence of that coverage is also not a defense the responsible party gets to raise. It changes the cash flow of the claim, not the merits.

Q: How do you get security footage from a business or property owner?

Ask in writing, immediately, and keep a copy of the request. A private business is not required to hand over its video simply because someone asks, and footage is often overwritten within days or weeks, so a written preservation request is the practical first step and it creates a record that the owner knew the footage mattered. If the matter becomes a filed case, the formal discovery process can reach the footage and the maintenance records behind it. Whether and where to file is a decision to make with a lawyer.

Question

A few weeks ago, my daughter went through the gate in her apartment complex in Orlando and used the scanner card like she always does. Just as she was going through, the heavy metal gate suddenly came down and crushed the roof of her car. She was flipping out as she did not think it would go back up. Luckily, the sensor kicked in, and it went up and did not do further damage. The main point to know here is that we don't have collision or comprehensive insurance, unfortunately. We did not file a police report because my daughter was very upset and left the scene. Nevertheless, I hoped we could sue the building or get some compensation, as this was not the fault of my daughter, and the repair looks extensive. She has yet to get a body shop estimate. The background is that this gate is always in some form of repair; the maintenance guys are always out, and it usually stays open all day and night for this reason. There was also a witness (who my daughter is trying to locate). When I sent the general manager an email informing her of the accident, she said she would fill out an accident report, but that the gate is in perfect working order as the maintenance guys had been out just that day — right! I asked to see the camera feed and asked for her insurance info. She did not provide this, and ignored me, but said to have my insurance company contact her. As I mentioned, we do not have the necessary car insurance for this vehicle. I also can't seem to get an attorney to help me with this case since no one was injured. My question is, what can I do? What kind of lawyer could even help with this case? Do I go to small claims court? If so, how do I get the building manager to give me a copy of the accident report, and their insurance info, and view the camera footage?

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

You can pursue the complex, but nothing makes it automatic — this is an ordinary negligence claim, and the fight will be about the gate's maintenance history and the video, not about the law. The good news is that the history you describe is exactly the kind of evidence these claims turn on. There is no Florida statute that makes a property owner responsible for a mechanical gate failure by itself. Florida's slip-and-fall statute covers a different situation entirely. What applies here is ordinary negligence: you have to show the complex owed a duty of reasonable care in maintaining the gate, that it fell short, and that the failure caused the damage. The tenancy does give you a starting point. Fla. Stat. § 83.51(1) requires a residential landlord, at all times during the tenancy, to comply with applicable building, housing, and health codes, or, where none apply, to maintain the roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair and the plumbing in reasonable working condition. That section sets what the landlord owes a tenant; it does not by itself decide who pays for a crushed roof. But a landlord with an ongoing duty to maintain, and a gate its own crew was out repairing repeatedly, is a landlord who will have trouble arguing it had no notice. Notice is the heart of your case. A one-off failure of a well-maintained gate is a hard claim. A gate that is "always in some form of repair," that staff attend to constantly, and that is left standing open because of it, is a different picture. The manager's response — that maintenance had been out that very day — cuts both ways, and it may be the single most useful thing she has said. Two practical points. First, having no collision or comprehensive coverage does not weaken a claim against the party at fault; it only means your own insurer will not advance the repair while the fight goes on. Second, the manager is not obliged to hand over video, an incident report, or her insurance information just because you asked. Those things become reachable through the formal discovery process in a filed case, which is one of the real reasons a filing sometimes matters more than a letter. Footage is also routinely overwritten in days, so the request to preserve it should go out now and in writing. On finding help: property-only claims are hard to place with contingency-fee injury firms because there is no injury to fund the case. Florida's small claims track in county court exists for smaller money disputes and is built to be usable without a lawyer. Whether that is the right forum, what to sue for, and whom to name — the management company, the owner, the gate contractor — are choices to make with a lawyer, even a one-time consultation. What you can do 1. Get two or three written body shop estimates now. Without a number, nobody can evaluate the claim, including you. 2. Send the property manager a short written request to preserve the gate's camera footage, the maintenance and service records for the gate, and the incident report. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it. 3. Photograph the gate, the damage to the car, and the area, and keep the access-card record if the system logs entries. 4. Locate the witness and write down what they saw, with their contact information. 5. Keep every email with the manager exactly as sent and received. The one where she says maintenance had just been out is evidence. 6. Ask a Florida attorney — a consumer or landlord-tenant lawyer, not only injury firms — whether small claims or county court is the right route, and who should be named. Many will review a matter like this for a flat fee. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page. ⏱ Time limits apply. A property-damage negligence claim runs on Florida's negligence limitations period: for claims arising before March 24, 2023, the former four-year period under the earlier text of § 95.11 applied, and a 2023 law shortened it to two years under § 95.11(5)(a) for later claims. A claim framed on the lease rather than on negligence can run on a different period. Which one governs, and from when, depends on facts a Florida attorney should check against your dates. This page does not calculate any date.

Car Damaged by an Apartment Complex Gate in Florida

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