To not pay for friend to get her phone fixed after I smashed it?

[katie3347]

Friday night me and my friend went out for drinks.
We were stood at the bar and I turned around quick and knocked my friends phone out of her hand,it hit the floor and smashed the screen.
It's still working but the screen is totally cracked.

She was a bit upset saying she didn't have insurance and couldn't afford to get it fixed.
I can't afford it either and shouldn't she have had insurance on such a expensive phone?
Anyway I haven't mentioned it since ..aibu to just not mention it again?
I know she probably expected me to pay to get it fixed but it was a accident and she was the one who let go once I hit her arm.

@Unsuitablelake

No it doesn't. And even if you had insurance, I'd be surprised if they paid in the case of someone else breaking your phone. (Unless that is as covered as well...)

But I'm not from the UK so I might be missing something.

The OP should offer to pay for it and at least pay half... (If she could, in any way, afford it. Different situation if she was honestly struggle to pay for food etc imo)

The decision of course for what to do is up to you BUT think about how you would feel if this had happened and your friend had broken your phone. Surely any of us, if this had happened to us, would hope that their friend would at least offer some money to pay for the damage?

I don’t understand anyone saying you shouldn’t pay. Yes it’s an accident, but the accident was still on your behalf.
I’m sure you could spend the £80 on better things but so could she and it’s not her fault

Of course you should pay!
Ridiculous to think otherwise

If it were me, I would be mortified that I’d broken my friend”s belongings and immediately offer to pay. I also think that your friend would probably say “no, it’s ok” and then you should say “but it’s my fault, I insist” and then you would come to a mutual agreement to go halves. Her phone might be broken but your friendship wouldn’t be.

In those circs I'd offer to pay half, in the interests of maintaining the friendship. If it had happened to you, you would prob accept her half payment, no?

Of course you you should pay, you caused the accident.

YABU, of course you should offer to pay half.

You say you can't afford £40, but can afford to go out drinking.

Do the decent thing and cough up!

If I had my phone in my hand in a crowded public place where people are drinking...like a bar...I'd have a death grip on it.
I WISH ALL phones had something attached with those tiny holes so a person could put one of those hand straps through that come with gaming systems (Wii, at least. I'm not familiar with all the systems) I would use them. I also wear crocks though and don't care what people think because I am sensible, safety minded (hence hand strap desire, regardless if others think I don't look cool. lol) and like comfort!
ANYTHING can happen to knock your phone out of your hand. A person could have had a heart attack and fallen and pushed a person into another person then they fell into another one and then they fell into you and you into her and "made her drop her phone". So, it is not 100% YOUR fault, but, you should offer some. Maybe even say, I can give you 5 a week/month til you pay her half. She Should say, no, that's okay, I should've had a better grip on it...then you say,, yeah, but I turned quickly and blahblahblah and then, you'll both learn to be more careful in the future and can stay friends. I wouldn't just never bring it up again because it will drive a wedge between you.

You broke her phone- you did- she didn't drop it you knocked out of her hand. YOU are responsible, not her.

I think you should pay half at least whether you can afford it or not.

Hmmm I would definitely offer to go halves at least

It doesn't matter if it's your fault or not. Be a good friend and pay something towards fixing her phone.

Yabu!! You broke her phone you pay for it. Her insurance is none of your business. I have insurance and my excess is 100 so that would cost more than paying outright. What kind of friend are you!?

Where I live it's pretty normal to have personal liability insurance for exactly this kind of situation. It costs pennies and you're covered when you accidentally smash someone else's stuff.

Turning around into someone isn't the same as a car accident. Phones break easy and need keeping completely out of harms way. I would try to offer something towards it evenso. Anyone could have knocked her phone out of her hand.

It's a bit like putting your car across the road and not expecting anyone to hit it??

I thought when I read the first line of OP I wouldn't say this, but its like going in a loo at a festival and thinking my phone/camera will never fall down, chances are some people's will!

An old friend of mine once did this to my phone. I was a student living in rented accommodation and she was working nearly full time living with her parents. She never offered anything towards my phone even though she picked it up and it slipped out her hand. I had to pay for it myself as she “couldn’t afford it” not surprisingly we’re not friends anymore.

Pay

Pat at least half.... It would be a nice thing to do, something a friend would offer

You knocked the phone out of her hand, you caused the accident. If you cause an accident in your car, you pay. If you cause an accident that breaks someones goods, you pay.

Do the decent thing.

It doesn't matter if it's your fault or not. Be a good friend and pay something towards fixing her phone.

Of course it matters if it's her fault. Do you just go around paying for your friends broken stuff just to be a 'good friend'?

I thought this was going to be that you were holding the phone and dropped and smashed it yourself, not that you just turned around and it got knocked out of her hand.

I wouldn't expect you to pay for this if it were my phone. And if she wants an expensive phone she should be careful with it and have appropriate insurance for it.

Having said that, if it were me, I might offer to pay half and just hope that she would refuse my offer.

I'd no doubt offer to pay to fix it and starve for the rest of the weeks if need be. It's not your friend's fault.

You broke it you pay for it

What a cf!

If I accidentally broke someone’s phone I would offer to pay for the repair and wouldn’t be offended if they accepted. If someone broke my phone by accident I wouldn’t accept any money from them (accidents happen) but I would be a bit miffed if they didn’t make the gesture.

How in the world are people saying it's not her responsibility? She knocked the phone out of her friends hand, it didn't leap out.

I'd think very little of someone who didn't even offer to pay for the damage THEY caused.