OMG 1Ds MK3 hit the concrete

FretNoMore wrote in post #7402680
Am I to interpret that as that you think the camera owner is to blame here?

If I were clumsy enough to swipe someone's camera off the table and break it I would of course pay for the repairs. This is no different from for instance a traffic accident, if you're the cause of the accident you pay.

So, say you knocked a Ds3 with a 1200mL off the table, you'd cough up would you? And perhaps contribute to the consequential losses as well, if i was on a pro job? Good oh.

FretNoMore wrote in post #7402680
Am I to interpret that as that you think the camera owner is to blame here?

If I were clumsy enough to swipe someone's camera off the table and break it I would of course pay for the repairs. This is no different from for instance a traffic accident, if you're the cause of the accident you pay.

I don't beleive the camera owner is to blame, but there is some culpability inherent in the act of putting the camera into a place where a third party could come along and inadvertantly damage it. (Ask a Rolls chauffeur who is at fault when someone rams into his legally parked million dollar saloon....)

It was more a comment that someone's thoughts turn to litigation after any such incident, not necessarily specific to this specific instance. Who wants to live their life like that? Who wants to live around people who live their life like that?

chauncey wrote in post #7402751
My renter's insurance; I made sure that everything is covered everywhere, your fault, my fault, nobodies fault.

Yeah, and go ahead and make a claim and watch the result.

1. They'll cancel you so fast your head'll spin.

2. Your premiums will skyrocket to the point you'll wish you never picked up that phone to call.

Few years back I had water leaks from ice dams under the eaves on my roof. It damaged some paint, damaged window moldings. A friend said call the insurance company. They won't even come to check. The'll write you a check.

He was wrong.

Check they did. They wrote me a check for damages to the tune of $5,000. I thought I hit a mini lotto. I was shocked. I had the damages repaired for far less.

Shortly thereafter, my premiums went from $900 a year to $1800 a year. When I called to complain, I was told it had nothing to do with my claim, but with their experiences of high claims in the northeast due to winter storms.

I said hogwash. I threatened to cancel, stating I'd take my business elsewhere.

The kind rep said don't be so hasty. Better get insurance in place from another company first.

I called a competitor. The first question I was asked was if I had made a claim in the past five years. They have a central database so lying was out of the question. I said I had just made a small claim.

The rep stated: "Then we won't insure you," and HUNG UP.

My insurance rates now, having never made another claim, are almost $3,000.

There's no free lunch in this world. Pay me now, and you'll surely pay later.

me

Robf wrote in post #7402867
So, say you knocked a Ds3 with a 1200mL off the table, you'd cough up would you? And perhaps contribute to the consequential losses as well, if i was on a pro job? Good oh.

That would take a football linebacker to knock off, all 35 pounds of it.

It sounds to me like there was some fault on both parties. Your friend puts his unprotected camera on a table in a busy restaurant etc. etc... The lady probably didn't even see the camera. So it's not like she did anything wrong. It was just an accident that could have been prevented if your friend had taken reasonable precautions with his valuables. That's the real problem. When the fault is shared usually there is no case for a judgment. At best with fault on both sides, any kind of judgment would be low if anything at all. Best to forget the lady and see if the Restaurant has insurance for such things, and chalk it up to experience.

duct tape

Robf wrote in post #7402867
So, say you knocked a Ds3 with a 1200mL off the table, you'd cough up would you? And perhaps contribute to the consequential losses as well, if i was on a pro job? Good oh.

I don't understand this thinking at all, who do you suggest should pay for the damage then? The person who did the damage or the victim of the accident? Just pray one or both parties have good insurance in this particular example.

As to losses because the photographer couldn't do his job, that is possibly a matter for some kind of law suit, at least in the US, over here it would not be taken up by any court. The photographer would have to take that loss.

FretNoMore wrote in post #7402832
What has the value got to do with anything? How is it more OK to break someone's point-and-shoot and walk away without taking responsibility than if it is a high-cost dSLR?

Completely agree. This is destruction of property through negligence.


Its not okay to accidentally break people's things.

Synovia wrote in post #7403345
Completely agree. This is destruction of property through negligence.


Its not okay to accidentally break people's things.

You're right, it's not okay, but in this case both parties probably contributed negligence to the "accident". Based on what I've read in this thread, I'd say the camera owner was 70% negligent for leaving his camera on the edge of a table in a busy restaurant, and the lady was 30% negligent for knocking it off the table. If I were a trial judge and this case were brought before me, that's how I'd award damages: the lady to pay 30% of the cost of fixing the camera and I'd give the guy a lecture about leaving expensive equipment in vulnerable positions in public places.

Reign wrote in post #7388402
Such is the irony of legal training. If you have a plumbing issue and a plumber comes, you listen to what he says is wrong with your plumbing. If you have a medical issue and a doctor sees you, you listen to his diagnosis. If you have an issue with your car and take it to a mechanic, you pay him to do whatever it is to fix the problem. If you have a legal issue and seek advice from a lawyer, you tell him why your opinion is right and his legal analysis is wrong, you refuse to pay him, and storm out the door.

Or politics in general. How many people do you know think they know everything about politics, but have never studied it? Never read a book (books by politicians and media talking heads rarely count, because they are produced solely for the dollar, not the content aspect) or studied its history? Do I know everything about it (sit down, you won't hear this often)? No, but much more than most people.

It is frustrating to work as hard and make the sacrifices that most of us do to afford our equipment. I was sitting in a theme park stadium on an isle seat and had my 20D, 70-200 2.8 and my 580EX Flash in my lap holding it. An elderly man stumbled up the stairs and reached to brace himself on my knee but pushed down on the flash instead. He didn't say a word. The pressure knocked the flash mount lose and the flash moving back and forth. I of course had to send it out for repair. My extended warranty did cover it though.

There should be some responsiblity taken by the person that causes the damage. I know I am more careful with my rig now and I bet we all will keep them off tables in the future.

Trique Daddi

This thread will run and run fueled by testosterone and righteous indignation

Trique Daddi wrote in post #7403574
It is frustrating to work as hard and make the sacrifices that most of us do to afford our equipment. I was sitting in a theme park stadium on an isle seat and had my 20D, 70-200 2.8 and my 580EX Flash in my lap holding it. An elderly man stumbled up the stairs and reached to brace himself on my knee but pushed down on the flash instead. He didn't say a word. The pressure knocked the flash mount lose and the flash moving back and forth. I of course had to send it out for repair. My extended warranty did cover it though.

There should be some responsiblity taken by the person that causes the damage. I know I am more careful with my rig now and I bet we all will keep them off tables in the future.

Trique Daddi

An old infirm man trips and to prevent himself falling he acciently damaged my camera, do you think I should kick him in the bollocks?

MDJAK wrote in post #7402793
May I quote part of the title of this thread: "OMG."

I mean, let's make a mountain out of a molehill.

I dropped a 1DsMKII, all EIGHT GRAND of it when it was new, onto a concrete sidewalk. It was my own fault. The top of the camera body around the hot shoe cracked, the hot shoe was bent, the focus mechanism was knocked out of alignment.

FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS later my camera was good as new, and I even got to keep the cracked top as a souvenir of my carelessness.

If your friend can afford an EIGHT GRAND camera, he can surely cough up the dough to have it fixed and move on with his life.

Suing? Give me a break. Accidents happen every day.

Insurance? Please, let's make a claim and see our premiums go up and wind up paying for the repair over and over again in increased cost to insure.

Sh*t happens, plain and simple. He was careless, the woman perhaps was in a rush. It's life. Get on with it. Could have been worse. She could have snatched it and ran and gotten away with it, kind of like the dude in Ho Chi Min City in Full Metal Jacket.

me

i will just quote this one in case some people didn't see it.

neil_r wrote in post #7403610
An old infirm man trips and to prevent himself falling he acciently damaged my camera, do you think I should kick him in the bollocks?

He should have the decency to offer to pay for the damage he caused, and you can choose to be magnanimous about it and say "don't worry, I'll take care of it" if you so choose.

Anyway, I've stated how I see it so I'm out of here. For you guys comtemplating leaving cameras anywhere people can come near them, just pray it's someone like me who wreck your camera and not one of those who think it's your fault that other people cause accidents.