Can a body/frame technician be sued if a car is not repaired correctly but according to how the insurance company allows if somebody is hurt in that vehicle?
Perhaps the best way to answer the question is with several questions, which hopefully will allow you to determine your answer:
1.Who would be responsible for treatment of a medical patient? The doctor or their health care insurer?
2. Who would be responsible for damages/injuries resulting from a poorly performed brake repair? The brake specialist who did the repair or the uncle who paid for their nephew’s brake job?
3. Who is the repair professional? The collision repair technician or the insurer’s claim representative?
4. If an insurer is in breach of their contract/policy, who is responsible? The auto body repair technician or the insurer?
Collision repairers are considered experts in the field of auto collision repair, and insurers are experts in the business of insurance. Collision repairers don’t sell insurance, and insurers don’t repair collision-damaged vehicles.
Imagine standing before a judge and/or jury of your peers explaining how a family died in a horrific post-repair accident due to the fact that you repaired the vehicle the way the insurer suggested…even though you knew it to be a less-than-proper and less-than-thorough repair.
Yes, you the technician and the shop owner/manager can be held personally liable for your actions (or lack thereof) and the damages caused as a result! Just as a doctor and the hospital or clinic he or she worked for may be responsible for his or her negligence.
The goal of every auto body repair technician and collision repair facility owner should be to restore a damaged vehicle back to its original pre-accident condition in safety, function, appearance and value to the best of reasonable human ability…no more, no less.
The goal is not to merely restore the damaged vehicle…it’s also to restore peace of mind.
