Legal Question in Consumer Law in Washington

Small Claims burden of proof

On Monday of this week I had the heat exchanger replaced in the heater of my house. To replace the heat exchanger the technician had to disconnect and then reconnect many of the components of my heater. Upon reassembly the heater did not function. The technician diagnosed the problem as the main curcuit board being faulty, an 800 dollar part.

My heater was functioning before the technician disassembled it ( other than the heat enchanger being cracked ).

Are damages which are a result of the repair the responsibility of the person who is doing the repair? If so what is my burden of proof? Must I know what action the technician performed to cause the error?

The technician denies any wrong doing.

What is the correct course of action? Do I simply pay for someone else to repair the heater and accept the damages?


Asked on 9/29/05, 11:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Small Claims burden of proof

Well, you have to prove that the heater was working before the technician took it apart. The fact that you had a repair person out suggests there was a problem to begin with.

You are going to need to have an expert diagnose 1) what was wrong with the heater in the first place 2) whether the tech. followed a reasonable standard of care 3) whether the resulting problem was the fault of the tech. Dunno. That's a question for the trier of fact.

Technician likely is insured/bonded, if he's legit.

So, you need to carefully locate a person who is an expert heater repair person and lay out the problem for them. IF they are able to figure out what happened to your heater, and willing to come to court with you to testify about what happened, AND they think it's the repair person's fault that your heater no longer works, you could prevail.

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Answered on 9/30/05, 10:26 am


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