Ask The Rabbi

Ask The Rabbi

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The Rav Name: Rabbi Meir Arad

Q. If an optometrist was tired and mistakenly gave the wrong prescription eyeglasses to a customer and as a result the customer’s eyes were weakened and he needed a stronger prescription, is he liable for damages?

Answer:In Shulchan Oruch Yoreh Deah, 336:61, it says that if the doctor was unintentionally negligent and damage was caused, he is not liable for the damages in the laws that pertain to relationships with people, but is liable in terms of the relationship with Hashem, and in the Shach 102, it is written that if there was intentional negligence, the doctor is liable according to the laws of Heaven. On this topic, even if we say the law for the optician is like that of a doctor, in any event the law is like that of a money changer who received money and is entrusted with it, and he is liable for it because of the law of “Garme”. Even though someone who did it unintentionally is not liable, since he charged and was unintentionally not charged, from here we deduce that the mistake made because of tiredness is considered like an intentional mistake and he is liable for it. (See Shulchan Oruch, Remo, Shach…) (See also Kovetz Beis Hillel Gilyon 48 P.160, the discourse of Rabbi Eliezer Roth, and the Halachic decision of Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein.)

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