Damage caused in the course of providing a service: what happens next?

Damage caused in the course of providing a service: what happens next?

"I helped a friend carry boxes for his move and inadvertently dropped one of them, which contained some crockery that I didn't think was very valuable... Despite this, my friend asked me to claim my insurance and I find this rather petty, given that I gave up my Saturday for him completely free of charge...".

Marie-Claude, Geneva

Doing someone a favour raises complex legal issues. The question is whether the parties intended to enter into a gratuitous contractual relationship, or whether their relationship is governed by the rules of business management without a mandate, or whether it is purely an act of convenience.

That said, the Federal Court considered that the performance of a duty undertaken altruistically and without seeking one's own interest should not prove disadvantageous for its author. Thus, the principle laid down in art. 422 of the Swiss Code of Obligations for business management must be applied in all cases, in the sense that the person providing the service must be compensated for any loss he or she may suffer as a result.

A claim for damages does not require fault on the part of the beneficiary of the service. It is a question of causal liability, which is why it is sufficient for the person providing the service to have intervened in the context of the planned activity and in the interests of the beneficiary; in particular, it is not necessary for the beneficiary to have participated, through his or her conduct, in the occurrence of the damage. It is therefore appropriate to apply the principle, valid in both contractual and non-contractual matters, according to which the person who in the interest of and for the benefit of whom a dangerous activity likely to cause damage is carried out must bear the risk.

It follows that you would be entitled to refuse your friend any compensation for the damage you have caused, even though your civil liability insurance would no doubt cover this incident without any problem and without you having to get angry with your friend...