Liability insurance/issues for home mechanics?
10-25-21, 12:23 PM
#52
Full Member
A waiver is helpful and may make the individual think twice. However, if someone wants to engage in some sort of civil litigation, they will find a way. And it could be just an "extortion" strategy...i.e. how much will you pay me to not sue you for all this money? Good liability insurance (for a business) can be useful in defraying most, if not all, of the costs in situations like these. A caveat is that, if the work one has done is directly tied to problems with the bike and the injury it caused, a waiver may not offer any defense.
Consulting with a CPA AND a lawyer is a good place to start. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pond of cure."
Consulting with a CPA AND a lawyer is a good place to start. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pond of cure."
Last edited by stephr1; 10-25-21 at 12:26 PM.
10-25-21, 01:01 PM
#53
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Also consider your current home-owners insurance. If you're running a business in your home, say your bike shop is in your garage, you have a number of bikes in for repair, you have a fire..your insurance adjuster may see a business in the remains and deny coverage. Yes..a stretch, but it's good to be aware of the issue..
10-25-21, 01:12 PM
#54
Junior Member
yes, you can get sued...I'd suggest a bicycle maintance from, say Barnett's Bicycle Institute (BBI) in Colorado Springs, or any top notch training institute...I know that if you take & complete the BBI course and something happens to a bike you've "flipped" or worked on. As long as you followed the course instructions, John Barnett will back you completely...fyi
other than that, talk to the manager of Mike's Bikes & ask what he has to pay for liability insurance...then, get a good civil lawyer. Since you advertised as a business, you'd better get insurance. If you hadn't done that advertisement, I think you might have been covered as a "good samaritan" - you do the best you can with what knowledge base you have.
that said, I'm retro. I've both helped others & "flipped" bikes, no problems, I attended BBI 30 years ago...I don't do any work on the newer versions of the "1895 Safety Bike", I know little about shocks & don't ride with them, don't mess with them...same goes for ebikes. I can work on most indexing but prefer friction shifting.
other than that, talk to the manager of Mike's Bikes & ask what he has to pay for liability insurance...then, get a good civil lawyer. Since you advertised as a business, you'd better get insurance. If you hadn't done that advertisement, I think you might have been covered as a "good samaritan" - you do the best you can with what knowledge base you have.
that said, I'm retro. I've both helped others & "flipped" bikes, no problems, I attended BBI 30 years ago...I don't do any work on the newer versions of the "1895 Safety Bike", I know little about shocks & don't ride with them, don't mess with them...same goes for ebikes. I can work on most indexing but prefer friction shifting.
10-25-21, 04:45 PM
#55
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I recently decided to advertise myself as a mechanic due to the pandemic supply/demand situation at my local shops. We've lost 3 of my small town's shops in the last few years and are left with a chain store, Mike's Bikes, that was so backlogged that they hung a sign saying they would only service bikes they sold. It has eased a bit now but still there is a two week wait.
Anyway, two or three months into my wrenching career, and a lot of happy customers later, a bike-wrenching/flipping friend says something like "I would never do that due to liability". This jives with a letter a woman wrote to a financial columnist wanting her retired husband to either get liability insurance or stop being the neighborhood handyman. This is my situation in a nutshell.
Can I get sued if a bike I work on breaks down and causes a crash? For that matter, what about bikes I flip? Any potential liability there?
What do you home mechanics do? Buy insurance? Not worry/think about it?
Anyway, two or three months into my wrenching career, and a lot of happy customers later, a bike-wrenching/flipping friend says something like "I would never do that due to liability". This jives with a letter a woman wrote to a financial columnist wanting her retired husband to either get liability insurance or stop being the neighborhood handyman. This is my situation in a nutshell.
Can I get sued if a bike I work on breaks down and causes a crash? For that matter, what about bikes I flip? Any potential liability there?
What do you home mechanics do? Buy insurance? Not worry/think about it?
10-25-21, 04:48 PM
#56
Senior Member
If you want the experience that comes with having many bikes passing through your stand work with people you know. Loudly decline all payment in money. When the “customers” insist on something, let it be known you accept gifts in kind. Those who cheap out don’t get invited back.
10-25-21, 05:24 PM
#57
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If you want the experience that comes with having many bikes passing through your stand work with people you know. Loudly decline all payment in money. When the “customers” insist on something, let it be known you accept gifts in kind. Those who cheap out don’t get invited back.
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AndrewRStewart
AndrewRStewart
Last edited by Andrew R Stewart; 10-25-21 at 05:29 PM. Reason: added content
10-26-21, 07:47 AM
#58
Senior Member
I have never understood how bike shops handle liability. Most bikes ever brought to me for repair work the base problem was the LBS had made a total mess and walked away from the customer. I don’t flip many bikes but old stuff does fall into my hands and I can’t keep them all. In nearly every case the nice old bike has never been used because of initial assembly errors. They are dangerous errors and it was a good thing the bike sat in a garage for decades.
The one season I was employed at the bike shop there were two lawsuits against us. One was wrongful death of a small child who flew out of a child seat. Main claim was against the manufacturer. Manufacturer got off too. My position on that was the child seat was insanely risky and we shouldn’t be selling them. Still my position on child seats. Everyone still sells them and the LBS install them badly, parents do crazy stuff using them. Most in retail cannot face a parent and tell them no, we won’t sell to you.
Life is risky. Nothing is risk free. Being paralyzed by fear might be rational but is no way to live.
10-26-21, 03:10 PM
#59
Junior Member
The answers have been clear, unanimous and unequivocal. My (haha) career as a "paid" mechanic just ended. Not worth the hassle to setup a proper business. And I don't need the money. It was just nice to be compensated directly for my labor, unlike flipping where the results are delayed, and uncertain, depending on how the sale goes. And selling can be a pain, dealing with flakes, negotiating over little things, cheap buyers, etc, etc. I know, because for the first time ever, I got serious about flipping when I realized the pandemic was bringing better prices.
So, to repeat my 2nd question, does flipping/selling bikes have similar liability issues?
Sure seems similar to me. I'm selling something as safe that I worked on. Maybe I need the equivalent of a "release of liability" form like the CA DMV.
edit: oops, re-reading, I see Zandoval already mentioned a "Hold Harmless" form.
So, to repeat my 2nd question, does flipping/selling bikes have similar liability issues?
Sure seems similar to me. I'm selling something as safe that I worked on. Maybe I need the equivalent of a "release of liability" form like the CA DMV.
edit: oops, re-reading, I see Zandoval already mentioned a "Hold Harmless" form.
