As the recent John Eagle verdict reminds us, a botched repair can expose an auto body shop to a potential multimillion-dollar lawsuit – and even criminal charges – if it leads to serious injuries in a subsequent collision. Yet in most states, opening a body shop is as simple as filing for a few permits and paying a few fees.
Attorney Erica Eversman believes that needs to change.
Outside of Michigan, there are “minimal requirements for who can become a collision repairer,” Eversman said during the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Nov. 2 OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit in Las Vegas.
“We don’t have training requirements for techs,” she said during the panel discussion. “We don’t generally even have licensing for shops.”
In most states, the licensing and registration requirements for body shops are “laughable,” Eversman added.
“It’s all about miniscule things like, do you have a hazardous-waste disposal permit? Do you have workers’ comp provisions?” Eversman explained. “And even though people have their workers’ comp provisions, there are still thousands of shops who are paying their folks cash under the table, and they’re paying folks as 1099’s when they are in fact employees.
“I hate to say this, because I am no fan of regulation, but we need at least minimal regulation in this area.”
Repair procedures need to be regulated as well, Eversman said.
“We are using the OE [specifications] and saying, ‘OK, well that’s the standard,’” Eversman asserted. “And thankfully the OEs have risen to the call and they have really started coming out with a lot more repair standards.”
But here’s the rub: Until the OEMs’ repair specifications are codified into law, shops have little leverage with insurance carriers.
“The insurers will always say, ‘There’s nothing that requires us to pay you to repair the vehicle according to the OE standards,’ and they will always blow it off,” Eversman said.
On the topic of regulation, attorney Todd Tracy weighed in with another idea.
“If the OEM does everything right and gives all the information to the repair facility, and the repair facility follows the OEM repair specification to the letter, I believe there should be legislation that immunizes the shop owners,” Tracy said.
Todd Tracy: There should be laws “immunizing” shops from liability if they follow OEM repair specifications. @SCRScollision @SEMASHOW pic.twitter.com/1EpWiJDPXi
— BodyShop Business (@BodyShop_Biz) November 2, 2017
