Liability

Catlover123

An electrician drilled through a water supply pipe causing a leak which could not be repaired.   The shared water supply next door had to be turned off and they had to get a new private water connection.  Who is responsible for paying for this?  The neighbour, the electrician or the owner of the house where the leak occurred?

Alanp

Electrician should have public liability insurance, assuming they’re self employed or the company they work for should have it, if the sparks was doing a guvvy job, then it’s him they should claim from,,

grumbler

Alanp said:

Electrician should have public liability insurance,

He is liable. It's his choice whether to have insurance and use it or to pay his own money.

neilmcl

The electricians fault but I'd argue it was the neighbours choice to get a completely new water supply, the electrician would only be liable for the costs of repairing the damage he caused, ie, fixing the shared supply leak.

Section62

Catlover123 said:

An electrician drilled through a water supply pipe causing a leak which could not be repaired.   The shared water supply next door had to be turned off and they had to get a new private water connection.  Who is responsible for paying for this?  The neighbour, the electrician or the owner of the house where the leak occurred?

Check the deeds/covenants to see if there is anything relevant to the issue.

Is the property where the damage was done in private ownership?

Was any information provided to the electrician about the possibility of a shared service pipe being in that location, and could the damage have been avoided if the electrician exercised reasonable levels of care?

What was the nature of the damage that meant a repair was impossible... drilling a hole in a pipe rarely requires the provision of an entirely new water supply... is there more story involved in this?

FreeBear

neilmcl said:

The electricians fault but I'd argue it was the neighbours choice to get a completely new water supply, the electrician would only be liable for the costs of repairing the damage he caused, ie, fixing the shared supply leak.

Agreed. A plastic pipe is easily repaired, and there are couplings designed specifically for this type of repair. A copper pipe can be cut, and a straight coupling soldered in (or even use a compression fitting). Lead pipes, again, very easy to repair, but few plumbers know how to do it properly and would recommend replacing the pipe for health reasons.

The neighbour has a duty to minimise the cost and should not be claiming betterment. The electrician should have been a bit more careful about where he was drilling, but he would still be liable for repairs (although not betterment).

Alderbank

FreeBear said:

neilmcl said:

The electricians fault but I'd argue it was the neighbours choice to get a completely new water supply, the electrician would only be liable for the costs of repairing the damage he caused, ie, fixing the shared supply leak.

The electricians fault but I'd argue it was the neighbours choice to get a completely new water supply, the electrician would only be liable for the costs of repairing the damage he caused, ie, fixing the shared supply leak.

 Agreed. A plastic pipe is easily repaired, and there are couplings designed specifically for this type of repair. A copper pipe can be cut, and a straight coupling soldered in (or even use a compression fitting). Lead pipes, again, very easy to repair, but few plumbers know how to do it properly and would recommend replacing the pipe for health reasons.

I agree as well.
So I am intrigued that the OP takes care to say '...drilled through a water supply pipe causing a leak which could not be repaired.
Just what sort of leak in a water pipe could not be repaired?

Section62

Alderbank said:

Just what sort of leak in a water pipe could not be repaired?

Access restrictions could make it difficult/impossible to do a repair, or it could be issues with materials - either lead (as previously mentioned) or galvanised iron, or a non-standard size. Even with those materials repairs are still possible, but it becomes a matter of economics when plastic pipe is so cheap and labour to dig a trench is cheaper than expertise in repairing unusual materials.

I think there is more to the situation than the electrician being solely liable... hence the questions I asked earlier.