LEV944 We are forbidden to damage property, and are held liable if we do. 1) You may not damage the property or belongings of others. (Choshen Mishpot 378:1). [This] verse states that a person is held financially responsible for damage he causes, but does not explicitly state that it is forbidden to damage. Rabainu Yonah (commentary to Pirke Avos 1:1) writes that all acts of damaging are included in the prohibition against stealing. The Yad Rama states that damaging others is a violation of the commandment to love our fellow man. Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Kaniewsky writes that we learned it is forbidden to damage from the commandment to return lost objects. If we are obligated to return lost objects to their owner, then surely we must not damage something that belongs to another person. (Kehilos Yaakov, Bava Kamma 1). 2) If you damaged someone's property or possessions, you must pay him regardless of whether or not you derived any benefit from your actions. (Choshen Mishpot 378:1). 3) You are held responsible even when you caused damage accidentally. For example, you are held liable for damage if you trip and fall on top of someone's belongings and thereby break them (ibid.). However, since there are exceptional instances of accidental damage when a person is not held liable (such as when a person is climbing up a strong ladder and a rung slips out causing the person to fall and break something -- Choshen Mishpot 378:3) a halachic authority should be consulted whenever a question arises. 4) You are held liable for damage you caused regardless of whether you caused damage with your hand, foot, or body or if you caused damage by throwing a stone, shooting an arrow, or squirting water. (ibid. 384:1). 5) If you are banging something with a hammer and a fragment shoots out and causes damage, you are responsible to pay. (ibid. 384:2). 6) Reuven has a document which verifies that Shimon owes him money. If you burn that document and consequently Reuven will be unable to collect the loan, you must pay Reuven the amount that was stated in the document. Even though you only burned a piece of paper, the damage is assessed according to the loss suffered by the owner of the document. (ibid. 386:2)