a tech's liability

[jlund99212]

Hello all, I work for a busy dealership and currently we do not have any formal procedure for consequences of neglegent repairs. These two questions I need answered:

1) When a technician breaks a part on a customer's car, how should that situation be handled?

2) When a tech has a (workmanship) comeback how should that be handled?

any responses will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking.

[MagicRat]

These are difficult issues and not always clear-cut. You should insist that a written policy be established on clear-cut cases. But still, be prepared to defend your position. If you suspect a job may cause trouble, take written notes, take pics etc. before you work on the car.
Bring your concerns to your manager's attention if necessary. You do not want to make things difficult for him though. Have him sign off on your notes if necessary to you can protect your interests.

Sometimes, you can have related parts that are marginal on a customers car that do break.

For example you change a water pump on a customer's car. To do so you must remove the rad. But the rad is so old and corroded, it crumbles when you remove it. In this case, the customer needs to be informed and shown the part that is bad; the reasons behind the breakage must be explained.... and the customer pays.
It's a good idea to let the shop manager know of such issues before you work on the car, if possible.

If there is some question about liability, like the part was really bad, but the mechanic still should not have broken it, a deal can be worked out, like the customer pays for the part but you do the labour for free.

If the broken part was in excellent condition, the mechanic pays for replacement.......... unless the dealer staff had given him incorrect instructions or some other error, then the dealer pays.

If the breakage is completely unrelated, then the mechanic pays. If the damage is major....... like you set the interior of the customer's car on fire, then the dealer's insurance pays and the mechanic responsible pays the deductible.

As for comebacks, this is always a redo for the mechanic, at their expense, unless a mechanic can convincingly argue that he is not at fault.
In such cases, when the mechanic suspects there might be a comeback...... ie, the parts might be defective or the customer has shown signs of abousing the car, then let the shop manager know before you finish the job.
Take notes and get the manager to sign off on your suspicions if you have to.

Also read this (very important). This outlines some basic legal principles that limit your financial and legal risk at work, regardless of what your employer says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicarious_liability

[curtis73]

It also depends on the state laws and how the business is set up. Some dealerships employ techs as independent contractors; kinda rent them a bay where they do their own work. Others are a solitary shop and they hire employees. Depending on how the insurance is set up, and the contract that the customer signs (either explicitly or implicitly) has a lot to do with your culpability.

[maxwedge]

Excellent info all around, in NYS lots of shops are union so other issues enter the picture here, I used to get involved in every come back as routine management involvement. I insisted that precautions were taken on any repair that waved a red flag as previously and wisely mentioned. Improper repairs/ damage caused by the tech must be and is " eaten" in my shop. Of course if this gets to be chronic and I documented all this as required, then he is done. A comeback caused by midiagnosis or poor quality work is handled in the shops I was involved with as a no time ( this was a piece work shop) repair situation, again on a case to case basis. If this became chronic then I would work with the tech to find out why this was happening, poor training, poor attitude, weak skills, all enter the picture. Attitude is the big killer of continued employment for me.