Accident in friend's house - stereo damaged

[JustAGuy2001]

I was with a group of friends at one of their houses. We were drinking out in the backyard. One asked me to go in and grab them another beer, so I did. (I was not drunk)
On the way back, I went to the stereo which is perched on a glass shelf on the wall. This was fastened to the wall using a metal brackets and 1 - 2 inch screws into the drywall. The stereo is quite large and took up the entire shelf and bent the metal brackets out of shape. It has been on the shelf for almost a year.

As soon as I pushed the button to change the station, everything shelf, stereo, and all, fell on me and the ground. I had the ability to only grab the glass shelf. But the stereo hit the ground hard and the music stopped.

The power would not go back on. I was nervous and said I will take care of it. So, am I out $900? I guess I am since I said I would take care of it. So, here's my other question. When at a friend's house, should we never touch anything???

Thanks

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I was with a group of friends at one of their houses. We were drinking out in the backyard. One asked me to go in and grab them another beer, so I did. (I was not drunk)
On the way back, I went to the stereo which is perched on a glass shelf on the wall. This was fastened to the wall using a metal brackets and 1 - 2 inch screws into the drywall. The stereo is quite large and took up the entire shelf and bent the metal brackets out of shape. It has been on the shelf for almost a year.

As soon as I pushed the button to change the station, everything shelf, stereo, and all, fell on me and the ground. I had the ability to only grab the glass shelf. But the stereo hit the ground hard and the music stopped.

The power would not go back on. I was nervous and said I will take care of it. So, am I out $900? I guess I am since I said I would take care of it. So, here's my other question. When at a friend's house, should we never touch anything???

Thanks

My response:

If you are being absolutely honest and accurate about this, then there was no negligence on your part for merely having "pushed a button". I have a feeling you did something more, however. You may have been too forceful, or your were doing something "more".

Be that as it may, and if you are being accurate about what you did, then there was no negligence on your part. However, because you had a "consciousness of guilt" by offering to take responsibility for paying, and said it in front of witnesses, you are now obligated to pay. It's one thing to say, "I'm sorry", but it's an entirely different matter when you offer to pay. Once an offer is made, and then accepted, you're on the hook.

You should have kept your mouth shut in terms of offering to pay, because that's what "homeowner's insurance" is all about.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

 

[JustAGuy2001]

You're right, now I have to pay. I accept that I have to pay since I prematurely said I would. I was being completely honest when I said, I just pushed a button. I was nervous because I have never been in that situation so I thought it was honourable to take the blame.

Thanks for your opinion.