Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Vehicle-Into-Building Impact Documentation
When a car or truck strikes a storefront, home or other structure, Delator Claims Division documents the vehicle's path, the point of impact and the visible damage for building owners, tenants, auto and property carriers and their counsel.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A vehicle strike on a building creates two claims at once: an auto claim and a property claim, often with different carriers and sometimes a tenant's policy as well. All of them need the same facts. Where did the vehicle leave the roadway or parking space, what did it cross, where did it enter the structure, and how far inside did it travel. Those facts sit in tire marks, curb scrapes, broken glass and displaced contents.
They also disappear quickly. The vehicle is towed, the opening is boarded, debris is swept, and temporary shoring goes up so the building can be secured. Delator documents the scene at whatever stage it is in, including after board-up. Field personnel record visible damage only. They do not judge whether the building is structurally sound or safe to occupy, and they do not determine driver fault or the cost of repair.
Building strikes we are asked to document
- A car in a head-in parking space travels over the curb and through a storefront window during business hours.
- A vehicle leaves a residential street on a curve and strikes the corner of a house, a porch or an attached garage.
- A delivery truck backs into a loading dock door, canopy or building corner and the driver's employer is notified of a claim.
- The auto carrier and the property carrier each need the vehicle path and building damage recorded before the opening is rebuilt.
- A tenant's inventory and fixtures were pushed or crushed inside the space and must be recorded before cleanup.
From the travel path to the interior
- Path from roadway to wall
- Tire marks, turf ruts, curb strikes and gouges traced from where the vehicle left its lane or parking stall to the building, with distances and angles measured.
- Barriers and parking layout
- Wheel stops, bollards, curb height, stall striping, sidewalk width and slope between the parking area and the building face, including any barrier that was struck or displaced.
- The breach and its dimensions
- Width and height of the opening, the wall materials involved, damaged framing, masonry, glazing and door assemblies, photographed from outside and inside.
- Depth of intrusion
- How far the vehicle or debris traveled into the structure, measured from the wall line, with the final rest position marked if the vehicle is still on site.
- Interior contents and fixtures
- Displaced shelving, counters, furniture, equipment and stock in the impact zone, recorded in place before salvage, with wide views that show the debris field.
- Vehicle contact damage
- The striking vehicle's front or rear damage, paint and material transfer, plate and VIN where accessible, at the scene or later at the tow yard.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
Evidence between the pavement and the debris field
The exterior evidence is short-lived. Turf ruts are raked out, tire marks fade with traffic and rain, and a broken wheel stop or bent bollard is hauled away with the debris. Inside, the pattern of glass and displaced contents shows the direction and depth of travel until the first broom moves it. An early visit captures the sequence in order, from the vehicle's departure point to its final rest, with reference measurements to fixed features such as building corners and light poles.
Once the building is boarded and shored, documentation continues with what remains: the opening as framed by emergency repairs, the interior damage, the parking layout and the vehicle at its storage location. Field personnel work around emergency contractors and do not enter areas that have been closed by the fire department, a building official or the owner. If part of the structure is off limits, that area is photographed from outside the restricted line and the limitation is noted.
One scene, several interested parties
The driver's auto carrier, the building owner's property carrier, a tenant's carrier and sometimes an employer or fleet insurer may all need the same scene. A single neutral record avoids each party relying on a different set of partial photographs. Questions that commonly arise later include whether the vehicle was moving forward or in reverse, whether a barrier stood between the parking stall and the wall, and which damage came from the impact as opposed to emergency access or cleanup.
Delator's documentation informs those questions without resolving them. The report does not allocate fault between a driver and a property owner, and it does not address pedal error, medical events or mechanical failure. Where a more technical analysis is wanted, Delator's personnel have accident reconstruction experience, and more detailed scene measurements can be collected on request. Storefront and street-facing cameras are canvassed during the same visit when the requester asks for it.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
Can you tell whether the building is safe to reopen?
No. That decision belongs to the local building official, the fire department or a structural engineer retained by the owner. Delator Claims Division is not an engineering firm. We photograph and measure visible damage and do not offer an opinion on structural condition or occupancy.
The vehicle has already been towed. Is the scene still worth documenting?
Yes. The travel path, curb and barrier damage, the opening and the interior remain. The vehicle can be documented separately at the tow yard or body shop if the requester can provide its location and arrange access, and the two sets of photographs are delivered together.
Do you document the tenant's damaged inventory?
We photograph and video contents in place and can record item labels and quantities visible in the impact area. We do not prepare a valued inventory or decide what is salvageable. The tenant, its carrier or a salvor uses the photographs to support that work.
How quickly can someone get to an overnight crash into a business?
Dispatch operates 24 hours a day, every day. Emergency deployment places field personnel on site in 30 minutes to four hours anywhere in Tennessee, and metro response averages under 60 minutes, which often allows documentation before board-up is complete.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.