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It happens. We unfortunately tend to break a piece of glass or a plant pot inadvertently somewhere every year. Can't be helped, one window was broken by some pink granite gravel chips, yet there's no gravel in that clients garden whatsoever.
We just foot the bill as it's never worth claiming on the insurance.
It has happened to me, although not for many years now, and I just organized and paid for the replacement double glazed unit [fortunately a upvc window frame]. I know someone who fits windows and so he will really look after me in this situation.
Having read this thread though, it occurs to me that if customers have gravel around or adjacent to lawns, then a disclaimer might not be unreasonable. We all know that gravel and lawns/mowing do not mix. So stating at the outset that as they have put down gravel and then asked you to mow and strim up to it, it would be their fault if any damage is caused. You cannot be held responsible for their decision to have gravel/chippings making the job more dangerous.
I have learned to be very, very careful. The vast majority of my work is nowhere near any glass, but where it is, I strim so slowly that I can see the line going around. It still cuts the grass but will only roll a stone away rather than launching it at high velocity. Which side of the strimmer you use making sure that the direction of cut is away from windows is also critical. On most regularly mowed grass there is no need to have the strimmer on full bore in any case. The throttle is not an on and off switch, it is a graduated accelerator like the one in the car.
As strimmers are usually the culprit, rather than a mower, then the safest but much slower way to go is by using edging shears.
Luckily only ever put one window through in 16+ years.
This was last year and the customer wasn't bothered because it was his kids which had thrown stones on the lawn.
We are professionals so instead of using strimmer near gravelled edges use the old school way by hand
In law you are not responsible because you have been invited by the householder to carry out the work required.
Providing you have not been negligent in carrying out the work as requested, then the fault does not lie with you.
The stone is the property of the householder, and it wa not your fault that your mower etc hit it, so you are not negligent.
The householder must claim from their insurance.
If you search the internet you will find legal details about this, search FPRA
That doesn't strike me as a very personal or professional approach Adrian.
Even of the law says you are not liable it does not create a good feeling with the client of a broken window is not replaced by the contractor.
We would usually take a view that we would replace the glass and create a feeling of goodwill and professionalism that is worth far more than it costs the to replace a pane of glass.
We also carry our rigorous and continual staff training on the safe use of strimmers. A broken window can always be replaced, but far worse would be a staff member or client's eyes should they be hit by a wayward stone.
How you deal with situations such as this reflects greatly on a business and the relationship with a customer.
To hide behind a disclaimer and force a customer to claim off their insurance sits badly with me.
My view - step up and deal with the issue directly.
A gardener recently broke a resident’s window when a stone flew out from the strimmer he was using. The gardener is employed by a contractor who is contracted to maintain our gardens, and is employed by the management company.
Question: who is liable for the damage to the resident’s window? That is to say, whose insurance company should pay for the repair: the resident’s, the garden maintenance contractor’s, or the management company”s?
The FPRA replies:
The gardener would only be “liable” if there were “negligence”. It would, I think, be quiet hard to show that the gardener was negligent in the circumstances you outline unless there were other factors (e.g. stones had been pointed out and he had been asked to rake first, but did not, or this had happened before and he had been asked to clear first).
External windows are normally part of the building and covered by the block’s buildings insurance, but this depends on your policy wording & scope of cover purchased. There may also be an excess.
Like most of the other comments here, I would replace the glass. As Adam says, it happens through no one's fault or negligence.
Touch wood it's only happened twice for me, unfortunately it was one day after another! I arranged replacement, and my customers were very good and offered to pay half through no request of mine, just long standing loyal customers who felt it was fair.
This was discussed a while ago and I'm sure someone said they carried some sort of a screen, may be corrugated plastic, for strimming near glass. I think it was Dan Frazer.
We would replace it and have done so quite a few times over the years! One of my guys did 3 in a week costing over a £1000 once!
On one particular maintenance job we started a few years back there was 10mm pea gravel everywhere which had spilled onto the lawn. It was a mine field despite being clean and tidy, after a window was broken by the mower a second time in a short period, I told the customer if we were to continue we could no longer be held responsible for any window breakages. Obviously they said no, so we had to give up the job due to the risk involved. I'm now reluctant to take maintenance jobs which have gravel near windows, as it has ended up costing me so much over the years.
On a few jobs where I've felt there is a large risk I have taken boards with us to cover certain windows.
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