Should I have paid for broken glasses?

A question about : Should I have paid for broken glasses?

When I was boarding a plane recently the girl in the seat next to me had spread all her belongings over my seat. As I arrived she hurriedly moved her items and in the process must have knocked her Ray-Ban sunglasses on to the floor. I then stood on them and they broke beyond any means of repair. Should I have offered to pay for a replacement pair or should she have been more careful?

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Best answers:

• I'd say no to paying for them.
  She put them (albeit accidentally) on the floor for them to get trodden on. Her loss.
• I'd apologise but agree with the others - it's up to her to take more care of her stuff, especially in such a confined space. In her shoes I wouldn't expect anyone else to offer to pay for my mistake either.
• They would be Ray-Ban glasses wouldn't they? How come no-one in these MSDs ever owns cheap supermarket stuff?
  But I agree with the other posters, it's not your problem.
• I agree with the others and no you should not pay for the glasses.
  Firstly what idiot spreads all there belongings over the seats of a plane knowling full well that others will be coming along and sitting in those seats, she should have waited until the plane took off ad if no-one sat in the seat besides her only then spread out.
  If you feel that you want to make a token gesture thats up to you but I wouldnt be paying anymore that Ј20 for a replacement pair.
  They were her responsibility she should have taken more care for such an expensive item (beats me why anyone would want to pay hundreds just for a pair of sunglasses)
• Definitely not!
  You are in no way responsible for what happened to her glasses.
  You didn't knock them on the floor and you certainly didn't tread on them with any awareness that they were there either. Had she said 'just a minute' and gestured for you to not come forward and you had ignored that and stepped on them - albeit still accidentally - I would understand your sense of feeling partially responsible. But, from what you describe, this was not the case.
  Stop beating yourself up over it.Things happen to our property at times that are a combination of our actions and external situations. If she has not understood that yet, then she should do now (and so should you).
• No you shouldn't.
  Also if she was on a plane chances are she has travel insurance.
• No. They are a fashion accessory, and the stupid (!!!!!!) should had known someone would be sitting next to her
• Absolutely not! She should not have had her belongings all over your seat in the first place, fully knowing you would return to your seat, and she knocked them on the floor, causing you to accidentally step on them
• This sort of thing really annoys me,people thinking they can take up seats to sort their stuff etc
  As for paying NO WAY
  if it were me I would say I will have to charge you for using my seat !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!b***** cheek
• Suggest she claims on her travel insurance but other than that not your problem, it was an accident.
• Why would she need sunglasses inside the plane ? why were they not inside her handbag / case ? It's not like she was going to use them for reading. It's only like having all your money unnecessarily out of your purse then losing it. Her accident - Her problem.
• No, but you could encourage her to buy a cord or chain so she can safely wear them round her neck in future.
• You did the action that did the damage - you pay.
• No pay. had she dropped them in the aisle on the way to her seat and they got trodden on then she wouldn't have even known about it until she sought them out on the beach.
  Have you paid her? Has she asked to be reinbursed? What are the details here?
• If she dropped her sunglasses in a busy street and a car drove over them would she expect the car driver to pay? Her insurance should cover the cost and if not then she shouldn'y buy expensive sunglasses without taking out insurance or standing the loss.
• Agree with everyone else, its not your fault, maybe try and be more careful in future.
• Gosh, this thread is so heart warming, as usual.