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Can You Sue a Mechanic after an Accident Caused by Shoddy Work?

The Liability of a Garage of Poor Quality Work

can-you-sue-a-mechanic-after-an-accident-caused-by-shoddy-workWhen you take your car or motorcycle to a mechanic, you expect that the people working on your vehicle will use reasonable care to ensure that all repairs are done properly and that your auto or bike is safe to take on the road. What are your options, though, if a mechanic fails to properly install or repair brakes or other parts, and you are involved in an accident? Can you sue the mechanic for compensation for your losses?

Personal Injury Claims Based on Negligence

Though you can always bring a lawsuit for damages caused by the intentional acts of another person, as a practical matter, most personal injury claims are based on allegations of carelessness or negligence (the legal term). In a personal injury lawsuit, you can seek damages from anyone whose negligence caused you to suffer injury or loss. To establish negligence, you need to prove that:

  • The person from whom you seek compensation (the defendant) failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances—Under the laws of negligence, all persons in society have a duty to use reasonable care in all their actions. That includes mechanics who work on your vehicles.
  • The defendant’s failure to exercise reasonable care caused an accident—You must show that the accident would not have occurred if the defendant had used reasonable care. You must also show that the accident and injuries that resulted were reasonably foreseeable as a consequence of the failure to use reasonable care.
  • You suffered actual losses—You can only recover for actual injury or economic loss. If your medical expenses are all paid by insurance, you cannot recover compensation for them.

The Liability of a Mechanic for Faulty Repairs

To recover from a garage or mechanic for injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident, you must, therefore, prove that the mechanic failed to act as a reasonable person would have in his or her position, that the work done failed to meet the standard of reasonable care. To prove that, you’ll like need to bring in expert witnesses to testify as to what would reasonably be expect of a mechanic handling these types of repairs.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

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