Scratched glass incident on $3 Million home

Hello everyone, I’m in desperate need of people who are smarter and more experienced than me regarding this case. We have caused scratches to almost all the windows on this huge house (I’m almost positive it was caused from our razors and the fab debris) They are Marvin windows. I’m worried that our insurance company will not pay for the damages but I have not called them yet as I am hesitant to say anything to anyone until I know more about what I am going to have to do.

Has anyone gone through this before, do you know lawyers who work on cases like this? I’m not sure if we will have go to court or not but I know that we don’t have the money to pay for how many windows have been damaged. Tens of thousands of dollars I’m guessing. Thanks guys, I appreciate anything and everything. and yes I have been reading all the other forms similar to mine and it is helpful in some ways.

Sorry to hear that happened.

Who is your insurance.

I’ll jump ahead, do you have “care custody and control” coverage. Even if you do, chances are it’s capped at a much lower amount (25k), also with the responses to direct questions to some insurance companies who provide it I am not confident they will stand behind it.

I have two hopes

  1. That you an LLC of some sorts

  2. That the client is the type of person who shrugs it off and points out the mud sidewalk which is not your fault.

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Sorry to hear that. It is unlikely your insurance will cover much, if any, unfortunately. If they do, I’d like their phone number!

  1. Did you have a scratch waiver signed?
  2. Is there a scratch removal company close to you? (I don’t know where you’re located)
  3. Don’t panic.

We do scratch removal, and get these types of calls all the time.

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MulchtankSilver Squeegee2h1

Client says that “they can’t live with the windows like that” although she is a very nice lady… she extremely particular.

No waiver signed, I guess this is my learning curve.

I’m in Branson Mo… I think there might be one in St. Louis.

DaveYogi,

I’m not sure we have the CCC, Ill have to check. Yes it is capped at 25k.

Yes, LLC.

No, Client says that they cannot live with the windows like this. Although she is a very nice lady.

Skipper,

Yes, met with the client and the window manufacture Rep. They both know we used razors and that it is from us.

Has anyone gone through this before where the insurance does not cover? Did you use lawyers? Thanks in advance everyone!

Sorry to hear about this. Sux man

Ultimately someone is going to pay whether it’s you , your insurance or the manufacturer. … Obviously of course.

First if I were you I would let he customer know if you haven’t already that razors are common practice with window cleaners an that your a pro an you know kowtow use them. I would them direct the blame towards the manufacturers give her some fabric debris info all that you can dig up

I think ultimately this will end up in court because the manufactures are going to blame it on you an your blaming it on them

You might need a expert with you in the field maybe a lawyer not sure these are the things you need to find out. My opinion is it will end up in court so…

You want to save face with the customer though by blaming it on the manufacture an maybe she can go after them.

Are they new Windows ?

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Majestic66,

Yes, I have briefed the customer on the fab debris and the use of razors. The problem is she is already taking sides with the manufacture because she bought the most expensive windows out there and truly believes that Marvin could not make a mistake. Her and the window manufactures representative seam pretty close and trust each other. and obviously the window man. representative was convincing her that there is no way the windows had fab debris and that he has never heard of it. (which is a lie).

The windows are not brand new however the house is not that old.

does anyone know of any recommendations for lawyers on the topic?

Are you sure it was you? Someone else did the CCU, and most likely used razors…

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What would something like this cost. For scratch removal ?

I’m sure this has to be an option if he is responsible after the judge decides

Matthew,

Yes it was us, as far as I am aware we are the only window cleaners that have been to this house…

She had a few windows replaced not too long ago because of leaking or something, we cleaned those… and then realized how badly they were scratched the next time we showed up.

I should have mentioned it to the home owner right away but I didn’t. I know I messed up there and I know I am learning a lot from this.

well probably best to shut up and let your insurance do their job. Let them fight for you and look bad. You save face in small/medium sized town and focus on making money today and tomorrow.

Some might say run and fold your business - can you sleep with this?

Not worth your time, let your insurance jump in.

Lets say you attempt to have the scratches removed, she might not be happy with the results, where would this leave you?

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Do not admit culpability. Research as best that you can any complaints about Marvin Windows. This is one area that Google can be your friend if you research and cross reference properly.

Your homework: Talk to your insurance agent about it. (If necessary an attorney familiar with cases like this). Research solutions that do not require full on glass replacement. Simply put you want as much knowledge and information as you can possibly piece together. Litigation contrives of you pocketing away all of the information that you need and only pulling it out as you need it.

In the future, STOP BLADING IF ANYTHING AT ALL SEEMS OFF. ALWAYS INSPECT EACH AREA THAT YOU DO BLADE BEFORE GOING TO THE NEXT.

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Garry,

I already have admitted to customer that it is from us. (she knows it is from us, who else could it be from? we are the only company who cleans the windows) I know it is fab debris though.

and yes, I will take a completely different approach to cleaning windows now. I know I did several things wrong and I guess I am learning big on this one.

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How do you end up scratching every window in the house?

Also, the house is worth 3 million not the windows. How many windows are there? Only the glass would need to be replaced, not the entire frame. On lightly scratched windows they could be restored. Your $25,000 policy could be enough.

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@Ethan1712

Like OP have said let your insurance fight for you.

Like you said “I guess I am learning big on this one.” be prepared to deal with it and learn from it.

DONT let this big mistake become “YOU” move forward, you got more work ahead just stay focused.

Good luck man!

Good luck. My old company was accused of scratching a bunch of glass and we know it wasn’t us. Old castle glass with swirl marks everywhere- no way a razor could do that unless you went psycho for 30 minutes on each pane. And somehow created swirls everywhere.

The"expert" said it was us and insurance paid out. We had an inclusion waiver or something and they paid out 10k.

I’m convinced the builder was doing shady things and didn’t want it to go to court or it would have cost 200k. Leed certified building with cheap as glass? Pretty fishy.

So I can’t really offer you much hope on this just let the insurance deal with it and cone up with terms.

And never ever ever use a razor without a waiver.

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Man this sucks bad, you don’t have any pictures? Also I can’t believe how is it possible to clean all the windows without realizing that you guys were scratching it. Also if they weren’t that old, I don’t even think they needed to be blade. What was the reason you decided to blade them?

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