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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
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    Default Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of California.

    Hi, first time on this forum and seeking some legal adivce. I am a currently a caregiver that provides care to five disabled adults. One of my clients went on a family outing on the night of Christmas 2016. He is completely dependent due to the fact that he has cerebral palsy, a conditon where he has no functions to any of his limbs. My job that night is to lift him from his wheelchair, change him, and put him to bed. That particular night, he had his cell phone tucked away in the pocket to one of his clothing. After I put him to bed, I proceed to drop his dirty laundry into the laundry basket without going through his pockets.

    Long story short, his cell phone went through a wash and wouldn't turn on. We tried to put the phone inside a bed of rice to no avail. The phone is completely dead. So now the client's dad would like for us to pay for the phone and also the monthly fees that were incurred for the two months that his son wasn't able to use his phone. My boss, afraid of informing the owner of the facility about the accident, and want me to resolve this behind the owner's back. So my question is this, am i responsible for this mishap? Would this be considered a business's expense? Lastly, are we responsible for the monthly phone payments that his dad has now placed upon us?

    Thank you in advance

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    8,238

    Default Re: Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    The argument can be made that you were negligent in not checking the clothing for items that should not go through the wash before putting the clothes to the laundry. You may have also breached a provision of the contract between your employer and the client, if that contract has a provision that addresses this sort of thing. So you may well be liable for the loss of the phone. Note that this would not mean being responsible to provide a brand new phone unless there is a contract term that requires. Instead, your liability would be limited to the value of the used phone immediately prior to it being washed. I do not think it likely that you would be liable for two months of service fees, but if there were special fees incurred in transferring the account to a new phone, you might be liable for that. Assuming you are an employee, your employer would also be liable for this incident, too. In California the law is protective of employees more than most states and makes most costs incurred by an employee the responsibility of the employer. What that means is that should you end up having to pay out of your pocket for this you might have a good claim to turn around and get reimbursement for that from the employer. A smart employer would have insurance to cover this sort of thing (assuming it did not just want to pay for it directly). Of course, if the employer learns of what happened the employer could fire you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    Default Re: Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    Quote Quoting Echeng18
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    he has cerebral palsy, a conditon where he has no functions to any of his limbs.
    Then how does he get the phone in and out of his pocket and use it?

    And does he have the mental capacity to know where his phone is?

    From a "legal" standpoint, in order to be negligent, you must first have a duty of care that you failed at.

    The answers to those two questions may determine whether you had a legal duty to check his pockets.

    Unfortunately, from a practical standpoint, your employment situation might make the "legal" nicety irrelevant.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Lake Chapala
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    Default Re: Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    Even if your employer doesn't have a policy that specifically states that you must go through a client's pockets before placing said client's clothes in the laundry bin, you can still be dinged for not doing so. (This is one of those "self-evident" things, as in it should be self-evident that pockets in clothes destined for the laundry should be searched beforehand. An example of a more typical self-evident thing would be tardiness. Many employers don't have policies regarding tardiness yet they are still legally free to ding employees who are late arriving for their shifts.)

    While you are to blame for the negligent breakage of the client's phone, your employer is responsible for the cost of replacing the client's phone. (For the two months' service while the client didn't have a phone? I'm not so sure of that.) If your employer pays for a new phone, your employer may require you to reimburse your employer for the cost of said phone. And this would be perfectly legal. Your employer is also legally free to fire you for negligently breaking the phone and/or refusing to reimburse the employer for paying for a new phone.

    As far as keeping your employer in the dark about this, the only way you and your manager can hope to do this is if you and/or your manager pay for a new phone and pay for the two months' service. Even then your employer might find out about it, and may legally fire you for keeping it in the dark about this.

    Regarding whether or not this is a business expense, I don't know. Hopefully someone with more experience with IRS regs will weigh in on this part of your issue.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
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    2

    Default Re: Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    Then how does he get the phone in and out of his pocket and use it?
    He went out for an outing so I am assuming that either his dad, siblings, or friends put his phone in his pocket.

    And does he have the mental capacity to know where his phone is?
    Yes, he later did apologize to me that he forgot to tell me that his phone was in his pocket.

    Another thing that I forgot to mention is that I merely put his clothes in the basket, the person that washed it was not me. Not sure if that counts for anything.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
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    Default Re: Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    Just as an FYI, AJ, not all or even most people with CP are mentally challenged. CP is the result of a brain injury - nature intended the brain of a CP individual to be in perfect order but due to an accident of some kind a portion was damaged, and what portion was damaged determines what the effects are. One of my best friends in high school had CP and could not walk without assistance, but she was bright enough to graduate a year early.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Are You Liable for Breaking a Client's Cell Phone

    Quote Quoting Echeng18
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    Another thing that I forgot to mention is that I merely put his clothes in the basket, the person that washed it was not me. Not sure if that counts for anything.
    Not really.

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