Neighbor ran over nail near our trash cans—how should I respond?

[Anonymous]

I just received a text from a nearby neighbor saying they ran over a nail in the street near our trash cans (it is garbage day) and got a flat tire. They’re hoping to discuss compensation.

I checked my camera footage and can see them hit something in the street and get a flat. They pull over, get out, inspect it, and then turn around and drive back home. The thing is, we didn’t throw away anything sharp, and our trash was fully contained in our bins, not loose at the curb. It seems like they just unfortunately ran over something that happened to be in the street near our house.

Has anyone dealt with something like this before? How would you respond to a neighbor asking for compensation in this situation?

[Anonymous]

"It's not our responsibility to compensate you."

[Anonymous]

WTF that's insane. As if you threw away a nail.

[Anonymous]

You tell them to get lost. The nerve of some people!

[Anonymous]

That is absolutely insane. You can send them the ring footage and say sorry it looks like you ran over an object in the street. Even if it was something near your trash can, not your issue as it's a public street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is absolutely insane. You can send them the ring footage and say sorry it looks like you ran over an object in the street. Even if it was something near your trash can, not your issue as it's a public street.

No, no, no! I would not get into any discussions with this delusional person. I would either ignore or simply say "not our responsibility." Do not engage with crazy.

[Anonymous]

I would just ignore the text for now and see if they get persistent

[Anonymous]

Neighbor is crazy. Don’t engage, OP

[Anonymous]

What sort of compensation? Pain and suffering? A nail in your tire is not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

I’d tell them to go pound sand. You can be more polite if you like.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t think clearly. I will ignore, for now, and tell them to pound sand if they escalate.

[Anonymous]

I would respond with

We didn’t throw away anything sharp, and our trash was fully contained in our bins, not loose at the curb. You getting a flat tire has absolutely nothing to do with us. It happened on public property on the public street.

Don’t mention you have camera footage. But Save that if they escalate.

[Anonymous]

Say no thank you, please use your insurance

[Anonymous]

Our little street has construction for months due to a McMansion. Practically all the neighbors got nails or other rubble/objects into their tires during construction, such that one neighbor complained in a group email that the workers should be more careful about clean-up.

And that was that. No one asked for compensation for tire damage. Stuff happens. We all renovate at some point.

You can reply: "I'm sorry to hear you had a flat tire, Frank. We did not throw away any nails or objects that contain them."

[Anonymous]

Crazy!