Concealed damage occurs when a product arrives at a warehouse or place of business, and it is not physically obvious that the item has been damaged in the shipping process. As the receiver, it may be very difficult to prove or disprove fault of the damage.
If a company receiving the items is unable to make a realistic assessment of the delivery upon arrival, it can lead to issues when the entire shipment is finally unwrapped and distributed. A medical distribution company can ensure concealed damage is addressed immediately and arrange for replacement goods so you don't need to worry.
Proving Fault
Unfortunately, in the case of concealed damage, it can end up being a very costly experience if you are unable to prove the carrier was at fault. In fact it is almost impossible to prove fault without having a video or photos of the damage occurring. Because of this, it is very rare that a company is given the full value for their claims. Medical equipment is very expensive, and in the case of damages to major purchases, you could be left with a huge bill to replace the item on top of the hit you are forced to take due to the limited amount of money you are offered to cover the damages.
15 Day Limit
In most cases with concealed damage claims you only have 15 days to file a claim. This means that you have to be certain that your shipping and receiving department, as well as your staff, have time to inspect items upon delivery. You know that 15 days can fly by very quickly in a busy facility and you could miss the deadline. If you use a medical distribution company, you will not have to worry about missed deadlines or damaged goods, as they inspect everything before shipping and then take responsibility should damage occur when they ship it to your location.
Complete & Thorough Inspection
Your medical facility more than likely does not have the staff or the time to break down or open every delivery you receive. This makes it very easy for concealed damage to be overlooked. Unless there is obvious damage to the outside of a box, it is impossible to assess the potential for damage. That means your facility has to make certain someone is available to make an inspection of a major delivery to avoid running into issues. With a medical distribution company, you will not be faced with this need.
Lost Revenues and Delayed Treatments
You also have to consider time lost treating patients in the case of damage to important equipment. You may have patients booked that will miss out on vital care and you will in turn miss out on vital revenue lost due to the damaged equipment. A medical distribution company should take responsibility to check the equipment and ensure everything is taken care of in the case of equipment damage or failure.
Lost Time
Between the dispute of getting a replacement in hand and determining who will be footing the bill, there may be quite a bit of time invested by yourself or team members. This will end up costing you money as well. A medical distribution company should handle disputes and in the meantime ship a new, undamaged replacement item so you can be up and running as planned.
As a medical facility, the damages could be both dangerous and costly to you. Using a medical distribution company like CME Corp will allow you to avoid the challenges surrounding concealed damage claims, as they will take responsibility for all of your products until they deliver them to you.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers.
With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
