Mechanic Breaks Customer's Windshield During Routine Maintenance. So, Who Has to Pay?

A routine strut replacement at a Mississippi tire shop turned into an expensive mistake when a mechanic’s hand slipped at just the wrong moment. Now the shop owner is asking an important question about who should foot the bill when accidents happen in the garage.

TikTok user @shittytire, who runs City Tire in Batesville, Mississippi, shared the unfortunate incident in a 1-minute video that has garnered over 2,400 likes and sparked a heated debate about workplace liability.

“We just busted this customer’s windshield trying to put some struts on the front of this thing,” @shittytire explains in the video, showing the damaged windshield on what appears to be a sedan. “You got to take the wiper arms and this cowl right here off to get to it and my guy’s hand slipped and hit it right at the bottom of that windshield there you can see just right at the bottom an inch lower and [would’ve] been fine.”

The damage was significant—the windshield cracked “all the way up,” requiring a complete replacement.

A Boss Who Covers His Workers

What makes this story noteworthy isn’t just the accident itself, but how City Tire’s owner handled the situation. Rather than passing the cost onto his employee, he took responsibility for the mistake.

“Obviously we’re gonna fix it for the customer. They’re not gonna have to pay a penny but some places I know make their employees pay for it. I don’t do that,” @shittytire said in the video. “If they’re working [and] an accident happens and you know they tear something up I’ll pay for it. I cover it.”

The shop owner did clarify his policy has some limits: “Now if it’s just something completely negligent and all that I might make them…” he said. “I mean if they do something real dumb, like bro, you paying for that but most of the time I cover it.”

The Legal Reality

While his approach may seem generous, it’s actually more aligned with federal labor law than many may realize.

According to legal experts and the Department of Labor, employers can only deduct pay from employees for workplace mistakes if the employee previously signed an agreement to that effect—and even then, only if the deduction doesn’t bring the worker’s salary below minimum wage.

This means that many shops that routinely charge employees for accidental damage during repairs may actually be operating outside the bounds of federal labor law.

Viewers Weigh In

The video struck a chord with mechanics and shop owners across social media, with many sharing their own experiences and opinions about workplace accident policies.

James Mclay was blunt in his assessment: “Illegal to make employees pay for damages that were caused during a repair, even if the employee was being negligent. This is where you use an HR department to file against the employee, and if it becomes normal for them to be negligent, you can dismiss them legally.”

Others shared stories of less accommodating employers. The Tired Technician commented, “I worked at shops when I was starting out that anything that went wrong you had to pay for out-of-pocket. It was [expletive], but I don’t make mistakes anymore.”

Many viewers praised @shittytire’s approach to management. “Soon as you start making techs pay for everything they’re not gonna want to do any work. Accidents happen, learn from them and move on,” wrote bilbo_crabbins.

ClawBossNJ summed up the sentiments of many: “Things happen. You’re a good boss man.”

Another commenter, going by “probably a fed,” put it in business terms. “That is 100 percent on the business owner,” they wrote. “Cost of doing business is accepting risk of an employee [messing] up.”

The video serves as a reminder that in the automotive repair industry, trust works both ways: customers trust shops to fix their vehicles properly, and employees need to trust that their employers won’t financially punish them for the occasional honest mistake.

Motor1 reached out to @shittytire via TikTok direct message for additional comment.