Basically what I said, I work for a small retail company that’s privately owned. They paid a contractor to paint a gas tank in the parking lot at work and the overspray got on most of the employees vehicles. It’s not a small amount of paint, at first they said the guys insurance would pay for it but his insurance won’t cover it so now my employer is saying they aren’t liable because he’s not employed by them. So far estimates have been $8000-15000 to get it fixed because the chemicals they use can’t be used on plastic so it all has to be replaced. My question is aren’t they still liable because they hired the guy and it happened while I was at work? Or can I only go after the guy who did the painting? Location: (West Virginia)
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The chances of your employer somehow being liable for the negligence of the contractor in this situation are basically nil.
Your sole likely legal recourse here is with the negligent contractor.
Contractor should carry insurance if licensed. (Used to be a painting contractor. People would intentionally move their cars next to a spray job to try for free paint job. Never had to, I would notify a day early, then cover any cars with super thin plastic sheeting. )
If you have full coverage auto insurance, look into submiting a claim or letting them know what happend.
Tell them what happened, pass along the contractors info. To avoid paying out a claim, they will likely help you recover damages from the contractor or his insurance.