What Is Property Damage? Legal Definition & Examples

Property damage occurs when your property is destroyed or damaged. The property loses some of its monetary value and/or loses its functionality as a result of the injury it sustains.

Property damage is different from bodily injury. Bodily injury occurs when you or someone else is physically hurt.

Often, the same incident causes both physical injury and property damage. For example, a car accident could damage your vehicle and also cause you physical injuries.

Any type of property could sustain damage. However, property can be broadly divided into two different categories:

• Real property: Real property refers to land and anything that is permanently attached to land. For example, the lot your home is built on, the house sitting on your land, your in-ground swimming pool and trees on your land are all considered real property.
• Personal property: Personal property refers to all other property. Essentially, anything that you take with you when you move homes would be considered personal property. This includes your clothing, jewelry, vehicles and electronic devices. Personal property is also called chattel.

Both real and personal property could potentially sustain property damage either due to natural causes such as an earthquake or due to the actions of people or companies.

Property damage can occur due to natural causes, as mentioned above.

Man-made damage can also occur. When the property damage is caused by other individuals or companies, there are legal doctrines that give you the right to make a claim for compensation.

For example, some types of legal claims for property damage include the following.

Negligence

Negligence is a very common cause of property damage. If someone carelessly harms your property through their negligence, you are able to pursue a tort claim to recover compensation for losses. In order to be successful in your case, you would need to prove:

• The acts or omissions of the person (or company) who harmed your property were below the accepted standard of care. In other words, the other party owed you a duty to behave with a certain level of prudence and failed to fulfill that obligation.
• The breach of the duty of care directly caused harm to your property
• You suffered losses due to the property damage which you can be compensated for.

If a driver speeds and crashes into your car, causing it to be damaged, you could potentially pursue a property damage claim and show the other driver’s negligence entitles you to compensation. You need to show that a reasonably careful driver wouldn’t have been speeding and that the speeding was the direct cause of the collision and resulting property damage.

Trespass to Land or Trespass to Chattels

Trespass to land or trespass to chattels occurs when someone intentionally interferes with your property.

If the property they intentionally interfered with was real property, this is trespass to land. If it was personal property, it is trespass to chattels. If your roommate took your car without your permission and drove it around for a day and then returned it, this is trespass to chattels.

In order to successfully make a claim based on trespass to land or chattels, you need to show:

• You owned or had the right to possess the property
• The defendant intentionally interfered with the property or entered your land without permission
• You were deprived of the possession or use of the property as a result
• You were harmed by this deprivation.

Unlike negligence, this is an intentional tort so you must show the defendant acted knowingly and willfully to interfere with your property, rather than just making a mistake.

Conversion

Conversion is similar to trespass to chattels, but is more severe. Typically, in conversion cases, the defendant must have interfered so severely with your property rights that the defendant is required to pay for the full value of the affected property. If your roommate took your car without your permission and sold it, that is conversion.

The court considers several factors in determining if a case is a conversion case or a trespass chase including:

• How long the defendant improperly exercised control over your property
• Whether the defendant intended to deprive you of possession of your property
• Whether the defendant acted in bad faith or good faith
• What harm, if any, occurred as a result of the trespassing or conversion, including any inconvenience resulting from the defendant’s actions.

If your property is damaged, you have several options to recover compensation for losses. Here are some possible approaches.

Make a Claim With Your Insurance Company

You likely have insurance for many different kinds of property you own. For example, you probably have car insurance if you own a vehicle and homeowner’s insurance if you own a house.

You may be able to recover compensation from your own insurer if property damage occurred–even if someone else was at fault. So, if your homeowners insurance policy covers vandalism and vandals targeted your home and caused damage, you could file a claim with your insurance.

Pursue a Claim Against the At-Fault Party Who Caused Property Damage

You may also be able to pursue a claim against the person or company that caused your property to be damaged. If another driver was at fault for causing a car accident that totaled your vehicle, you can pursue a claim against that driver for property damage arising from the collision.

In most cases, you would be dealing with the at-fault party’s insurer when making a property damage claim. The other driver who harmed you most likely has property damage liability insurance from their auto insurer. That insurer would pay out money to repair or replace your damaged vehicle up to policy limits.

When you make a property damage claim, you should be made whole for losses that someone else caused you to experience.

If another driver damages your vehicle, you should receive compensation for the value of your car at the time of the incident. Or if your insurance is paying for your property damage claim, you should be compensated for the repairs or replacement costs minus your deductible (if any).

Many factors can affect the amount of compensation you end up receiving including:

• How severe the property damage was
• What insurance coverage is available
• Who was at fault for the property damage and whether you share any responsibility
• Your state’s laws

Typically, if your property is damaged but repairable, you would receive money to fix it. You might also be entitled to compensation for the depreciation of the property if the damage causes it to be worth less over time.

If it was damaged beyond repair, you would likely receive the amount it was worth at the time of the incident. This might mean you receive less money than the cost to buy a comparable new item. However, if you make a claim with your own insurer and have replacement value coverage rather than market value coverage, you should receive enough to replace the damaged possessions.

You must take swift action when you experience property damage as you generally have limited time to pursue a claim for compensation.

In most states, a statute of limitations applies, setting a time limit for how long you have to pursue a claim for compensation from someone who harmed your property. This is typically between two and four years, although state rules vary.

Property damage claims can be complicated, especially if very valuable items were damaged or destroyed–or if the claims also involve personal injury losses as well as property damage.

An experienced attorney can provide you with assistance in pursuing a case so you can maximize the chances of being fully compensated for harm to your land, home or personal possessions.