Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Accident + MBP = :(

D

davidjearly

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Sep 21, 2006
2,271
382
Glasgow, Scotland
Hi,

On my way from work today, with my 17" Unibody MBP in my bag, I had a fall. I was walking on the pavement and tripped on a raised slab which resulted in me plunging to the ground, hurting my knee, wrist and head (which banged off the corner of a postbox) on the way.

Unfortunately, my MBP was in my backpack at the time, protected in it's own compartment and also in a cushioned sleeve. Nevertheless, I knew as soon as I heard the bag smashing to the ground, and me landing partially on top of it, that there would be damage.

It could have been worse. I could have seriously injured my head and my MBP could be in pieces, but the damage is limited to what you see in the pics and some pain for myself.

I am currently doing a Time Machine backup of all data, as the hard drive is in the corner that the damage is. After that, I am going to do a full test with the Apple Hardware Test. Is there anything else I should do?

I have a genius appointment for tomorrow, but do any of you guys have any idea what I am looking at in terms of a repair cost? If the Apple Hardware Test passes, and there is no other fault caused by the damage, are Apple likely to void my AppleCare warranty (I've heard of that happening in the past)?

Try not to squirm at the pictures. :eek:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0296 copy.jpg
    IMG_0296 copy.jpg
    668.9 KB · Views: 209
  • IMG_0297 copy.jpg
    IMG_0297 copy.jpg
    668.7 KB · Views: 167
  • IMG_0298 copy.jpg
    IMG_0298 copy.jpg
    644.4 KB · Views: 138
  • IMG_0299 copy.jpg
    IMG_0299 copy.jpg
    628.7 KB · Views: 162
  • IMG_0300 copy.jpg
    IMG_0300 copy.jpg
    755.9 KB · Views: 165
If you are that bothered about it you might aswell sell it and put the money towards buying a new one for the price you are going to have to pay Apple to fix it.
 
chrispholt said:
I dont like the suing type of people,
However how raised was the slab. The council may be liable.
Click to expand...

A good 4-5 inches, but I'm not the type to try and get something because something bad happened to me. I've reported it and tried to stamp it into place so no one else trips over it.
 
davidjearly said:
A good 4-5 inches, but I'm not the type to try and get something because something bad happened to me. I've reported it and tried to stamp it into place so no one else trips over it.
Click to expand...

Looks like you need the top case replaced. I had it happen to me but luckily I got a Genius that was very understanding of my situation so mine was fixed for free. He said it would usually cost around 300+
 
davidjearly said:
A good 4-5 inches, but I'm not the type to try and get something because something bad happened to me. I've reported it and tried to stamp it into place so no one else trips over it.
Click to expand...

I'm not in favour of frivolous lawsuits, but in this case you would be entitled to, at least file notice of a claim with the insurer of those responsible for the sidewalk. It's too bad you didn't get a picture of the slab. A four to five inch misalignment on a public sidewalk is a bit extreme, and borders on negligence. The insurance company would much rather pay for the actual damages incurred, than a high value lawsuit, which they would probably lose, or settle out of court for thousands of dollars. Also, filing a notice of claim would be desirable in case of future medical complications from the head strike.
 
Around here in Colorado regulation stair steps are 4-5 inches from the ground. That's a prettying freaking large sidewalk shift, and I agree that you should at least file a notice of a claim with whoever owns that sidewalk. You'll probably want pictures.

Anyhow, I'm sure all the electronics inside the MBP are fine, the warping on the case isn't all that bad compared to some other accidents I've seen on these forums. You just need a new upperbody, is all.
 
davidjearly said:
A good 4-5 inches, but I'm not the type to try and get something because something bad happened to me. I've reported it and tried to stamp it into place so no one else trips over it.
Click to expand...

Awesome reply David! I'm with you on this. Thanks for informing the city about the slab and trying to fix it so no one else will have an accident. Not to many of you around in this world
 
Thanks all. I've got my appointment with Apple in a couple of hours now. Someone mentioned earlier that the quote might be around 300 - I'm assuming thats is US dollars (I'm in the UK)?

Any last minute advice for my appointment?
 
damn man. im really sorry to hear of your fall and your poor baby :(

good luck with the appointment - im not sure there is much they can do, apart from replace the whole outer shell?

lucky it is unibody, i fear the damage would have been worse otherwise.
 
For anyone interested or following my thread, I had my appointment at the Apple store in Glasgow today. The Genius was helpful, but not particularly sympathetic. In the end, I've been given a quote for £171 to replace the top case and bottom plate.

This will obviously fix my problems with the MBP not balancing on the desk anymore and restore it to it's original cosmetic condition. The most gutting thing is, like all my Macs, until this accident there was zero marks or blemishes of any sort on this.

Oh well... I guess I'm happy with price - it could have been a lot more and I was thinking it would be.
 
davidjearly said:
For anyone interested or following my thread, I had my appointment at the Apple store in Glasgow today. The Genius was helpful, but not particularly sympathetic. In the end, I've been given a quote for £171 to replace the top case and bottom plate.

This will obviously fix my problems with the MBP not balancing on the desk anymore and restore it to it's original cosmetic condition. The most gutting thing is, like all my Macs, until this accident there was zero marks or blemishes of any sort on this.

Oh well... I guess I'm happy with price - it could have been a lot more and I was thinking it would be.
Click to expand...

That sucks dude. I'd try haggling and pleading :) My genius gave me a note but when I went in and tried to get it repaired via note none of the geniuses took it as it was. I had to argue with them saying that the note was saying that he would replace the top case for free. After 20 minutes they gave in.
 
Rithem said:
That sucks dude. I'd try haggling and pleading :) My genius gave me a note but when I went in and tried to get it repaired via note none of the geniuses took it as it was. I had to argue with them saying that the note was saying that he would replace the top case for free. After 20 minutes they gave in.
Click to expand...

What's the point in bargaining with them? They didn't raise the slab in the pavement I was walking on, causing me to trip and damage my MBP.

It wasn't my fault, but it wasn't Apple's either. TBH, I'm quite shocked it's not much more to repair.
 
Sorry about your fall. The good news here is that your mbp will be as good as new for under 200 quid or about 350 US.

If it were me I would be so relieved that a complete repair and perfect cosmetics could be had for such a relative bargain
 
i thought it would cost a lot more! are you satisfied with that amount? seems reasonable to me tbh - possibly get them to get the hardware as well to ensure none of it got damaged.
 
Hope everything works out well for you, man.

I feel your pain. Last semester in college, I had my laptop on my lap and I was surfing the interwebs for a bit. I fell asleep with the laptop on my lap and somehow it tilted and fell on the floor. My heart skipped a beat right away. Apparently it was fine, no dents or scratches or whatsoever.
 
I'm suprised with that price I thought it would have been more as we always get charged more for stuff in the UK :p. I would be happy with paying that price to get it fixed.
 
to the OP:

First off I am glad to hear that YOU didn't severely hurt yourself. Secondly $300 might seem like a lot to some people but I have seen apple quote past $1000 to fix notebooks before. You being in the UK got extremely lucky. This overall experience could have been much worse. Best of luck to you. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back