“The bottom line is: You’re (the shop is) the expert. Insurers will still be able to wash their hands of the repair in court, saying they’re not the ones fixing the car, “‘we just pay to have cars repaired,'” Eversman said.
A jury is going to see a document expressly detailing how to do the repair and wonder, “’Why wouldn’t you have done that?’” Eversman said. It breaks down to what “ordinary people” would think, she said. What if an insurer won’t pay for a repair to be done properly? Though it depended on state law, the insurer’s refusal to pay for the work to be done correctly “as a general principle” doesn’t absolve the shop of the need to follow OEM procedures either, Eversman said. As Felder observed,įelder noted that industry leaders had been “screaming” various liability concerns to shops, but repairers argued, “’That’s never going to happen.’ And then they all happened in one case.” John Eagle Collision Center’s manager in a deposition has testified the shop decided to use adhesive on the roof instead of the welds Honda requires. Last month, Dallas-based attorney Todd Tracy announced the latest version of the lawsuit, which alleged that the shop’s failure to follow OEM roof replacement procedures led to his clients Matthew and Marcia Seebachan being trapped in a burning 2010 Honda Fit.
“The reason we’re here is because of Texas,” Felder said. The broadcast Wednesday was done in response to the high-profile, $1 million-plus lawsuit against Dallas-based John Eagle Collision Center. 2 Sky Villa afterparty.Īll three major collision repair trade organizations and I-CAR also have declared OEM repair procedures to be the standard of care.
Register here for the three OEM Summit classes or the series pass package deal, which includes the entire week of classes, all three parts of the OEM Summit and the Nov.
Experts will present “The Hidden Dangers of Vehicle Technology, Improper Repair Methodology and Your Liabilities.” Space will be limited early registration is encouraged. The session is part of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists Repairer Driven Education Series Oct. 2 at the OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Learn what failing to follow OEM repair procedures could mean for your shop in court Nov. “I think some shops need to review that,” Felder joked.įind out about shop liability during Repairer Driven Education
Olson pointed out that the only permitted repair in California is one that follows OEM procedures, per the state Bureau of Automotive Repair. Montanez said judges want to hear what the OEM states on a particular matter. Both men serve as expert witnesses in collision repair-related cases. Host Kristen Felder (Collision Hub) asked Eversman’s fellow guests Mark Olson (Vehicle Collision Experts) and Larry Montanez (P&L Consultants) if either had encountered a time when something was found to trump OEM repair procedures in court. “When you read it (‘recommendation’)… you should read that as ‘requirement,'” she said Wednesday. In a May interview with Repairer Driven News, she explained that it has to do with the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act calling them requirements would force the OEMs into various warranty obligations under the law.īut for a shop’s purposes, “you can pretty well equate that with a standard,” she said then. OEMs call it a recommendation for “legal reasons,” Eversman said Wednesday. “That’s just not the place you ever want to be,” Eversman said. “If you don’t follow what the OEM tells you to do, you’re going to end up in a lot of trouble” should another collision occur, she said. If there’s anyone who knows how to correctly fix the vehicle, it’d be the automaker, Eversman said. Readers should consult with a qualified attorney specializing in these matters and familiar with the laws applicable to your area.) (Like Collision Hub did prior to the show, a brief caveat - the quotes and analysis in this article aren’t meant to be legal advice, merely informational. “Consider it a requirement whether they’ve used that word or not,” Erica Eversman (Vehicle Information Services) said during Wednesday’s “Repair University Live.” An attorney specializing in collision repair on Wednesday warned shops that the idea that an OEM “recommendation” is merely a suggestion is incorrect.