No matter how careful you and your maintenance team are, accidents can still happen. Knowing what to do if they occur can help avoid maintenance provider liability.
Businesses of every nature are always looking for ways to reduce risk: financial, regulatory, and physical. When it comes to fleets, the risk we face is often related to the possibility of accidents. Taking steps to protect the business in terms of liability is vital.
In a very important IdeaXchange blog, Jane Clark, Vice President of Member Services for NationaLease, lists the steps fleets should take to hopefully avoid accidents as well as what to do if they occur. These steps were detailed by Edward Leonard, managing partner at Harrington, Foxx, Dubrow & Canter, LLC, a featured speaker at the 2017 NationaLease Maintenance Managers Meeting.
If an accident occurs, Leonard suggests the following steps to avoid maintenance provider liability:
- Keep additional maintenance records in a separate storage
- Use cost/benefit analysis prior to disposing of post-accident material
- Have a post-accident procedure checklist
- Ask yourself if your actions would pass the “Reasonable Maintenance Provider” legal standard
- Consult a qualified attorney when unsure
If you are a maintenance provider, the greatest risk comes from allegations of negligent repair and breach of implied warranty so it’s important to be aware and to ensure that you act as “a reasonable service provider would act under the circumstances” and “to exercise ordinary care and skill” in repairing an asset.
Get the 6 steps to take before an accident to avoid liability by reading Jane’s full blog.
