QUESTION
who is should be liable for an accidental broken phone?
Asked on Aug 25th, 2012 on Intellectual Property - Wisconsin
More details to this question:
I am currently employed at menards located in platteville,WI i am a cleaner. I am asked to clean the building materials closet once a week. A few days ago i was cleaning the shelf thats a little above eye level for me. I accidently knocked my co-workers hat which had his smartphone inside of it on the floor. It broke the screen and i told him i would pay for it. This was before i found out he didnt have insurance keep in mind this is a 300 dollar phone. i had no idea the phone was on the shelf in his hat it waz a total accident. i dont think i am liable for the damages because he has no insurance. i personally think menards should cover it but they wont. he wants me to pay for the phone or hes going to take me to court i simply cant afford it. What should i do? pay it or do i stand a chance in court at all?
1 ANSWER
Reviews not shown
1 Award
The notion that you are not liable for the consequences of your own negligence simply because the person you injured does not have insurance is ridiculous. You are never entitled to offset your own liability by the amount of the plaintiff's insurance coverage.
There are not many $300 claims that are worthy of litigating. If you are sued, you can attempt to defend the action. You might have numerous such defenses to such an action, such as the absence of duty to anyone except your employer, the unforseeability of the particular harm in question, and the unreasaonableness of the damages sought by the plaintiff.
Good luck.
Answered on Aug 26th, 2012 at 5:38 AM