Who's to blame?

[Damian.Doherty]

I need some expert opinions on this, or funny ones.

I park my bike in the same spot every day in our office next to a coat rack, today one of my colleagues coats fell off the rack and hit my bike got covered in oil and is now at the dry cleaners where it may or may not be saved.

Is it my fault for parking a hazardous and oily bike too close to the coat rack

OR

Her fault for not hanging her coat up with enough care and attention which was the primary reason for it falling off and hitting my bike.

(I haven't checked my bike for damage yet)

 

[flecc]

I think much depends on whether you have permission to park the bike in the office. If you do have management permission, then you should have no liability for the consequences of the coat falling off the rack. In this instance any dispute would be between the coat owner and the management. If you don't have that permission, a court might well conclude that an office is not a suitable place to park this vehicle and hold you liable for the damage.
.

 

[vfr400]

Share the cost with her, and both look at what you can do to prevent another occurrence. No need to involve anybody else. There's no need to find who's to blame either.

 

[Damian.Doherty]

Both excellent replies, very diplomatic!

 

[The Bear]

I would say its your fault. Other workers shouldn't have to work around or make allowances for a pushbike in the office.
I understand why its in the office, but I would say that as soon as something like this happens then its your fault for putting a bike where it perhaps shouldn't really be (even with permission).
Office staff shouldn't have to take an oily chain into consideration when hanging up their coats. Normally a bike wouldn't be in an office, and folk know that normally if their coat falls off then the worst that will happen is it will get creased. Coats easily fall off coat stands, especially when someone removes their coat and accidentally catches the coat next to it.
By all means park your bike in the office if you have permission, but you need to understand your liability when something like this happens.
If my coat fell to the floor from a coat stand and landed on an oily bike chain I would be demanding the cost of a replacement coat.
Its not really normal for a bike to be in an office, and folk shouldn't have to make allowances for someones bike being there.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

If I left a coat on a coat rack at work and it fell down onto some oil I'd ask my employer for recompense.
I'd maintain that my employer was liable for the damage and it was up to them whether or not they chose to take action against you.

 

[The Bear]

I'd deal with the bike owner directly, i wouldn't involve my employer at all. If the bike owner refused to cough up then he might keep getting punctures for the next year or two. The punctures wold be purely coincidental, and nothing to do with me

Of course it depends on the dynamics of the office, and how well the bike owner and coat owner get on.

 

[RossG]

A couple of questions...why was your bike so oily in the first place, and are you still parking your bike in the same spot ?

 

[vfr400]

If I left a coat on a coat rack at work and it fell down onto some oil I'd ask my employer for recompense.
I'd maintain that my employer was liable for the damage and it was up to them whether or not they chose to take action against you.

That's not going to end well for OP, is it?

 

[Andy McNish]

Parking a bike under a coat rack doesn't seem like a great idea to be honest.
Is there really nowhere else you can put it?

If not then I think you might need to buy a chain guard or otherwise cover the bike when parked. And yes, I'd pay for the damage to the coat if it was my bike (assuming the coat rack's presence pre-dated parking my bike there).

Obviously if someone has put a coat-rack right where you have been parking your bike for years, then you might want to have a word with whoever did that.

 

[Barrio Barranco]

Buy a new coat for her, ask for the damaged one and use it to cover your oily bike each day after ripping off any excess material to give yours a wipe down occasionally during lunch break?! So what happens on days when it's been raining? Does it drip dry on the office floor too- oily, salty road grime? When I lived in a flat I kept my commuter in the kitchen but on a piece of vinyl flooring...

 

[bigman100]

I would say its your fault. Other workers shouldn't have to work around or make allowances for a pushbike in the office.
I understand why its in the office, but I would say that as soon as something like this happens then its your fault for putting a bike where it perhaps shouldn't really be (even with permission).
Office staff shouldn't have to take an oily chain into consideration when hanging up their coats. Normally a bike wouldn't be in an office, and folk know that normally if their coat falls off then the worst that will happen is it will get creased. Coats easily fall off coat stands, especially when someone removes their coat and accidentally catches the coat next to it.
By all means park your bike in the office if you have permission, but you need to understand your liability when something like this happens.
If my coat fell to the floor from a coat stand and landed on an oily bike chain I would be demanding the cost of a replacement coat.
Its not really normal for a bike to be in an office, and folk shouldn't have to make allowances for someones bike being there.