Liability

[Jennifer Jacobo]

Hello everyone,

I don't really know where to post this but I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on the terms and conditions on hiring out film equipment.

We own a Red and whenever we hire it out to people one of our terms is that if anyone except for me (the DP) damages or loses a certain part of the camera then they will be held liable.

We've hired our Red (with me as the DP) many times over without anyone complaining about our terms, until now. Basically they feel since I'm the DP I should be responsible for any and all damages or loss of equipment. I just want to know if what they're asking is fair since they want to remove that liability clause.

J.J.

 

[Casey Schendel]

Hmmm...

My first thought would be to say you shouldn't be liable. I can understand where they're coming from since it is your red and they want to cover there ass as much as possible when it comes to missing items and such.

I feel if anything is missing or damaged the production should replace/reimburse it.

Hypothetically if you were hired as the DP and they rented a RED from a rental house and lost/damaged anything they would have to pay for those items, no question, they won't be able to rent the equipment if they didn't agree to it either and have an insurance policy on file with the rental house.

Just because the RED is yours doesn't make a difference, you're renting it to them just like a rental house would. If they don't want to rent your RED for that reason they can go spend more money and get one from a rental house and still be liable if anythings lost/damaged.

I'd approach it like that, you can either rent from me or rent from them, I'm cheaper but either way the production is responsible for any lost/damaged items. I would take out that verbiage of "...if anyone except for me (the DP) damages..." completely. Your a rental house in a sense. Maybe even get a DBA that you do all red/equipment rentals with to separate it on paper. Then it looks like they're Hiring you as the DP and renting from another company.

If you remove that clause and something happens to your red they will probably fight tooth and nail to not pay anything for repair/replacement even if it's not your fault. Then this job cost you money.

 

[Bérenger Brillante]

the production is responsible for any lost/damaged items.

Totally agree, even if you are the one damaging/loosing items... Let's say your doing run and gun shots, and you fall, break a leg and a lens... That's a basic problem covered in every insurance...
There is no way you shouldnt be covered, for you and the gear.

As a DP, even if you do something wrong, the production should cover you... Maybe you won't be hired again, but for the time being, you and your team have to be covered.

Your gear is not the same deal as your work.

 

[donatello b]

perhaps it all depends on if you are hired as a employee or independent contractor ?

in general
when i hire a independent contractor i make sure they have workmans comp & liability insurance = if they don't have it, they don't get hired as independent contractor ... they get the equipment from whom ever and they have to cover it .... they damage it = they pay for it ... note: they do not work under my direct supervision ( IE: i need shots of X,Y,& Z by feb 20th - they choose the dates to get the shots )

if i hire them as a employee then i carry the workmans comp, liabilty insurance and rental insurance .... if they use their equipment i give them a insurance certificate ..

 

[Jennifer Jacobo]

This made a lot of sense to me. I have rejected the job because I am part of his crew and if I damage my equipment, I am covered (by my insurance) and the same should apply for the rest of the crew. In some situations, I will have to leave the gear under the supervision of one their crew members (ex. while doing a hand held shot or transfer data to a hard disk etc). In this case, they have to assure me that they are taking responsibility for the safety of the equipment.

I have now learned to stay away from these sort of people. Thanks guys for your response.

 

[Rich Schaefer]

I have insurance that covers me like a rental company and the Production company is always the primary insurer!!!!! This is standard industry practice!

Get with your insurer and find out what you need: contract, deal memo, certs.... I had a very small claim recently, $150, and the first words out of their mouth was "where is the rental agreement?"

On the other hand if your claim is small and productions deductible is high. They have to pay out of pocket. You have to ask yourself if its worth pissing off or loosing the client.

 

[Rich Schaefer]

This made a lot of sense to me. I have rejected the job because I am part of his crew and if I damage my equipment, I am covered (by my insurance)

I am not sure about this! My policy dose not work like that. My coverage would put him as the insurer! Assuming he is insured. Check with your agent!

Also, I have companies that want me to do jobs without insurance. I often recommend www.productioninsurance.com

Best,
Rich

 

[Jennifer Jacobo]

Thanks Rich. The entire production has no insurance whatsoever. Also, they were only willing to pay half of my normal rental rate - which I agreed to but they refuse to agree with the liability clause. I felt that that wasn't fair.

 

[James T Mather]

I'd avoid. Sounds bad. also the job has probably been underscheduled etc - if you do take it I would make it a policy to not hand over rushes until paid.

 

[donatello b]

be careful when you work for somebody with NO INSURANCE ..
you are asking for for them to cover your equipment under a their insurance ..

when i hear the word Liability i think in terms of 3rd party damages property /injuries not equipment ..
what happens if a 3rd person ( just somebody walking by) trips on a cable or something falls and hurts them or equipment/crew causes damage to property ...
in general: ( in calif) if you do not have a employee/employer relationship,
3rd party will go after all involved and the person that has the deepest pockets will end up paying ...

IMO make sure who ever you work for has equipment rental insurance and has min of 1mil liability coverage ... if you are hired as employee make sure they carry workmans comp ...

depending on size of crew , locations = in the end working for somebody without insurance and for 1/2 your normal rate may not be worth the $$