Tow trucks damage vehicles during hookup but lots refuse claims without pre-tow photo proof

Flatbed mishooks, wheel-lift scrapes, and dragging cars in park cause transmission damage, bumper cracks, and undercarriage dents, but tow companies routinely deny liability because the owner was not present during the tow and cannot prove the damage did not pre-exist. Filing a claim requires the owner to produce timestamped pre-tow photos of the exact damage area — evidence almost no one has for an unexpected nonconsensual tow. The burden-of-proof inversion persists because no state requires tow operators to photograph vehicles before and after towing, tow company insurance policies have high deductibles that incentivize denial, and the cost of litigation typically exceeds the repair cost so owners just eat the loss.