My classmate and I were studying this morning for our final in nursing theory. She accidentally spilled her coffee on my laptop and now it is broken (fried, won't start). Is she responsible? I tried to talk to her and she feels like she doesn't owe me anything.
I get that it was an accident but at the same time, I am out a 650 dollar laptop because of her clumsiness. She removed the lid of the coffee and then accidentally bumped it which caused it to spill all over my laptop. I lost my files and assignments which were saved on the laptop and it will not turn on now.
I was trying to not make a big deal of it because we both had to take a final exam. To be honest, I wasn't mad at the time as I realize stuff happens. She at first offered to pay for the laptop but after the final stated that she cannot pay for it and mentioned that she had a child and lived in a one-income household. I am not sure how to proceed. I have texted her and have not received a response back. Do I take her to small claims court or what?
I cannot personally afford to purchase another laptop at this time. Advice?
If she were looking at this responsibly, she would pay at least 50% of the used value. Her responsibility does not lie with the fact that she is a single mother or not. That is not a reason to beg off from doing the right thing. JMO
Seriously? I cannot believe the number of people who actually think her friend should pay. Like the one commenter said, accidents are a risk you assume when you own nice items and use them. If you are going to get upset about this sort of thing, you would be well advised to get insurance plans for said items (they exist). If a stranger had done this out in public, would you follow them home and keep calling them to demand payment? Do you think the cops would use resources to respond to a complaint like this? As a future nurse, are you planning to demand payment from your patient or employer if said patient vomits or stains your scrub? Some things to think about.
That sucks man. It might be unreasonable to ask for the full amount of a new laptop for these reasons: 1. the laptop was in your possession - you didn't loan or rent it, 2. it was an accident - you're responsible for your own things, 3. it's a used laptop - depreciation.
Not saying it was your fault or that you don't have a right to be upset. Focus on getting it fixed first then approach her in a casual way to see if she's willing to help pay a fraction of the cost. I don't see a need to get the police involved in this. Good luck with the rest of your program.
Seriously? I cannot believe the number of people who actually think her friend should pay. Like the one commenter said, accidents are a risk you assume when you own nice items and use them. If you are going to get upset about this sort of thing, you would be well advised to get insurance plans for said items (they exist). If a stranger had done this out in public, would you follow them home and keep calling them to demand payment? Do you think the cops would use resources to respond to a complaint like this? As a future nurse, are you planning to demand payment from your patient or employer if said patient vomits or stains your scrub? Some things to think about.
I think the attitude you present in your above post is clearly unneeded. God forbid that a student asks for advice. I think this person's question was fair and is not deserving of such a harsh and condescending response. He/she is obviously a little frustrated with the situation and if the tides were turned and this happened to you, I am sure you would be too. He never insinuated calling the police or following a person home. These are all hypothetical situations you used just to try and get your lack of point across.
Aren't we as nurses supposed to empower each other? You really didn't offer any advice. Perhaps you should reevaluate your reason in responding to this post in the first place. Or maybe address your anger issues? I suggest that if you have nothing positive or of substance to offer this young student, then you should probably withhold from replying in the first place. Just my two cents. Also, I personally, think that scrubs are a bad comparison in this situation. Scrubs are a uniform which doesn't cost nearly as much as a laptop. We wear scrubs because we know they will get dirty, hence their name - scrubs. And who do you know that would call the sue over a pair of scrubs?? Ridiculous.
I would ask her to be accountable for what the cost would be if you had bought a warranty. Get warranties on expensive things so that you're not out $600 when things go wrong. I can see it from both sides: it sucks for her to have to spend $600 over spilled coffee and it sucks for you to have to shell out $600 for her spilled coffee. It also sucks that you don't have a warranty.
It's probably repairable, will only be around $200 (cost of my repair after I spilled water on my trackpad), and you should absolutely hand her the bill. She's an adult and is accountable for her actions, even mistake.
Small claims court will give you a judgement, but the court does not care about collections. You'd use the judgement to start a wage garnishment or checking account levy. You cannot collect off alimony, child support, unemployment, disability, or veteran benefits. Also, the first $217.50 she makes AFTER taxes is hers. You can have everything between $217.50 and $290, after $290 you get a maximum of 25%.
If you really want to take her to court over a spilled cup of coffee, go for it. But if you can't pay for a laptop of ANY kind from ANYwhere today, you aren't going to be able to 6 months from now when you're still trying to collect your judgement.
The hard drive itself is probably fine, and adapters to convert it to a USB hard drive so you can at least recover the files are inexpensive. Ask her what she would be willing to contribute to that and be prepared for her to say zero. Then fill a backpack with whatever you can trade a laptop for in pawn shops.
Aren't we as nurses supposed to empower each other? You really didn't offer any advice. Perhaps you should reevaluate your reason in responding to this post in the first place. Or maybe address your anger issues? I suggest that if you have nothing positive or of substance to offer this young student, then you should probably withhold from replying in the first place. Just my two cents. Also, I personally, think that scrubs are a bad comparison in this situation. Scrubs are a uniform which doesn't cost nearly as much as a laptop. We wear scrubs because we know they will get dirty, hence their name - scrubs. And who do you know that would call the sue over a pair of scrubs?? Ridiculous.
I understand where you are coming from, I certainly did not mean to come across as harsh, even with my tone being as such. I agree that we nurses are too hard on each other. OP most certainly has the right to be upset and seek solutions for replacing an expensive item. I presented "extreme" scenarios more as a way to get us to think about this scenario, because many are jumping on the sympathy bad wagon and immediately demanding that this friend pay. This is very black and white thinking and I think these types of situations deserve more thought than immediately demanding that justice be served.
OP, this is a very crappy thing that happened to you. It is certainly not unreasonable to consider options for payment and see if she can contribute. I firmly stand by my original point though and think you are being unreasonable and a bit hostile. Suggesting you take her to small claims court and wanting to get campus security involved is an extreme reaction, IMO. Bad things can happen when we take valuable items out of the safety of our home environment. If this was a malicious attempt and she purposely dumped coffee out of malice, your justification would be stronger. Accidents happen and I strongly believe people these days try too much to blame other people when things happen. They do not consider their own role in preventing these mishaps. I wasn't trying to be snarky when I suggested insuring your items, some homeowners insurance policies cover accidents like these. From a practical standpoint, the amount of $$ your laptop is worth vs. court costs of actually suing her are negligent and will probably cost you more $$ in the long run. Make sure you back up stuff in the future, Google offers a huge amount of space for free to give you peace of mind about your documents. This situation is frustrating and I hope you are able to peacefully resolve it.
Would a damaged computer come under the umbrella of 'homeowner's insurance'? Am just asking as I really don't know.
But for OP to try the small claims court process, it would most prob be just a prolonged procedure. OP certainly couldn't afford to wait for a settlement before replacing his computer.
So OP should just follow others' suggestions to seek professional repair/retrieval services and buy another piece of equip.
Tally up expenditures and give the classmate a bill for half the costs. But don't expect reimbursement. If you get something, yippee!
I'm not sure what I would do in this situation, but I can't imagine doing that and NOT paying for it. I mean a few months ago I dented someone's fender (I misjudged the distance...oops!!) in a parking lot with no witnesses, and no security cameras that I could see...it was cosmetic damage only and I could have gotten away with it. I left a note with my contact info and notified my insurance co. Maybe I was just raised with personal accountability standards.
Even if she can't afford $600 now, I would think offering to pay you a little each month would show a good-faith effort.
She's in a tight spot with money, understandable, but she did destroy someone else's property accident or not. Time to be a responsible adult and offer to at least help, if not in full, *some*. If she did this accidentally to some random stranger you bet she'd probably expect them to want her to reimburse them for damages.
She needs to act like a adult & at least meet you halfway, if not, she's no friend to you & thus not a big deal if you lose her friendship. Either way it already sounds like the friendship is now on shaky ground.
Give her an ultimatum, tell her look, I understand your situation, but I need help with what you did to my property, can we come to an agreement, if not I'll have to take legal action, something you really don't want to do but will have to. She can pay half, or make payments, something. Whatever is agreed upon, write up an agreement you both sign. Time for her to be a responsible adult.
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
If she were looking at this responsibly, she would pay at least 50% of the used value. Her responsibility does not lie with the fact that she is a single mother or not. That is not a reason to beg off from doing the right thing. JMO