Can we get a refund for mechanical work that was done negligently which caused the wheel to fall off our car?
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Can we get a refund for mechanical work that was done negligently which caused the wheel to fall off our car?
We had all our tires replaced. About 2 weeks later one of the wheels fell off the car. Thankfully no one was hurt because my husband pulled over right before the wheel came off. The shop which originally put on the tires put the wheel back on, but obviously we don’t trust their work anymore and will need to take the car to a different mechanic be re-done. Can I ask the shop to refund our original payment, since their work resulted in our wheel falling off?
Asked on June 18, 2012 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If a tire or repair shop does negligent (careless) work in some way, they are potentially liable for any/all costs and damages directly caused by their negligence, such as the cost to repair a car, replace a tire, towing, etc. If they will not voluntarily provide such compensation as you find acceptable (e.g. a refund), your recourse would be to sue them (potentially in small claims court, where you could act as your own attorney) and prove by a "preponerance of the evidence" (more likely than not) that they were negligent and caused the tire to fall off.
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