$250,000.00Italian Porcelain Tile Yuck UPed

[Oldman]

Last Friday auto scrubber can back from dealer. New Jell batteries. Place on charger for 5 hours. Charger does not reduce charge as it should.  Jell batteriers liquied. Employee has to drive the scrubber over imported Italian Porcelain Tile to get to the area we are cleaning.  Battery acid flows out of scrubber and eats tile. There is no fix. The floor 10 years ago was $250,000.00! 

The scubber and charger are under warrenty. The batteries were new.

This is going to be interesting.

And who says life is not fun~~!

[car54]

What can I say but WOW. It will be interesting. God be with you Olds.

Brad

[Mr Walleye]

Ouch!

Depending on circumstances, this sounds like either a product liability issue with the manufacturer of a completed operations liability issue with the dealer who serviced it.

Good luck

Mike

[manxman]

Good luck on this one Raye, keep us informed!! 

[La Quinta]

"this is going to interesting" is an understatement!! HOLY COW...I'd be freakin' out!! Good luck...keep us informed!!

[Wildcat]

Ouch!  Old's, you may want to spend an extra $100 and do an initial consult with a good attorney before attempting to negotiate liability issues.  It may be a waste of a little money, but could be worth it in the long run.  A small price to pay for peace of mind.

[Consiglieri]

Please tell me you carry CGL insurance coverage.  This is important because then you can deal with your own insurance company as to the claim, they will conduct an investigation and "adjust" the claim (if possible), hire attorneys to defend you (if necessary) and seek reimbursement from the responsible parties.

If you don't have your own insurance, get in to speak with an attorney about the specifics so that he/she can help you.  Given the size of the claim, I would expect a "duck and cover" response from the manufacturer and distributor, and they'll likely need persuasion to recognize their exposure/responsibility. Plus, If you do the talking with the other parties, what you say is "evidence."   If the attorney makes the statements, they're "argument and negotiation in furtherance of settlement" (and inadmissable typically). 

Good luck.

[Oldman]

Thanks for the advice.  All is covered by my insurance company.  They are doing the investigation etc.. I carry 2 mil in coverage.

For that matter on my vehicles my business liability coverage is one million with a general aggregate of 2 million. Plus I have all of the addon stuff. Like an extra $250,000.00 in medical; a wrap-around that covers my employees and company should I have them use their personal vehicle to go to the hardware store.

I have so much insurance that I want to throw up when I see the premiums. We are a small company of 17 including the Principals, and my liability coverage including the 3 company vehicles is right at 30K per year. In fact with workman's comp. and health insurance (PPO) we are around 79K per year.

Insurance is a pain in the ares right up and until the time comes when you need it. Then those premiums don't seem so big.

[La Quinta]

Good time to have it now...trust me...I've built a lot of homes and a good insurance policy and (sorry for this) a good lawyer are invaluable. Hopefully the owners of the property are reasonable.

[Wildcat]

You are right on about the insurance.  Wife being a teacher, sometimes we use our personal vehicles to transport some of her students (i.e. prom and other dances with parents that simply can't take them).  We maintain a million dollar policy as well.