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We are having our house fixed up to put on the market. We do not currently live there, and all the repairs, etc, are being handled through our agent.
Today, our agent called to say the painter had a heart attack while painting in our house. He was taken to the hospital and recovered. I didn't think until later, could the painter sue us for his medical bills?
We did NOT engage him directly, the agent did. We never even met him, and actually have never signed any paperwork giving the agent authority to engage sub-contractors for us. We do have insurance, but dropped the umbrella policy.
I can't see how you would have liability for a heart attack unless there's more to the story but it's a bit disappointing to see how easy you find it to throw your agent under the bus. Was this painting being done without your knowledge? Did you not authorize the agent to hire this person? If you didn't, you need to have a serious conversation with your broker.
I can't see how you would have liability for a heart attack unless there's more to the story but it's a bit disappointing to see how easy you find it to throw your agent under the bus. Was this painting being done without your knowledge? Did you not authorize the agent to hire this person? If you didn't, you need to have a serious conversation with your broker.
We aren't trying to throw the agent under the bus
All we know as of this moment is what I just said above, the agent hired a painter, who was finishing up some painting at our house and sustained a heart attack. Its a litigious society, people sue at the drop of a hat. Where did I say I was trying to blame the agent? Regardless, painters usually are independent contractors and usually don't carry insurance. Therefore, he's going to look to someone to pay his bills, which would probably come to the selling price of our home! Like I said, we have insurance, but his bills would probably exceed that easily.
Why would anyone allow an uninsured tradesperson to work on your home?!? I know he was hired by the agent, but you should have instructed him or her to make sure they had insurance. The first question I ask anyone I'm considering hiring is "Are you licensed, bonded and insured" and I require proof. Society is definitely litigious and protecting yourself is key.
I would think it would be very difficult to show "fault" if a painter has a heart attack, unless you've been secretly feeding him Twinkies for the last 20 years. It doesn't even really come under the category of "workman's comp", since it wasn't something that happened as a "injury" on the job.
Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, anyways. We can't get any legal advice at 10 pm on a Saturday night! We used to carry an umbrella policy for just such situations, but we dropped it when it became too expensive. Before I get people screaming at me that umbrella policies are relatively inexpensive, etc, etc, the umbrella policy itself isn't too expensive, but, in order to have an umbrella, you must carry all your assets with the same insurer and insure all assets to the maximum liability afforded under the regular policy, then the umbrella kicks in. We were paying ~$350/month to insure 4 old, paid off cars to carry full liability! We were literally being eaten alive by insurance, and other recurring costs. We had to cut our budget somehow. We dropped to just basic liability for our vehicles, now we pay $80/month total for 4 vehicles!
I would think it would be very difficult to show "fault" if a painter has a heart attack, unless you've been secretly feeding him Twinkies for the last 20 years. It doesn't even really come under the category of "workman's comp", since it wasn't something that happened as a "injury" on the job.
Relax. No one is to "blame" for a heart attack.
My dh had a heart attack many years ago while at work. It never occurred to us to sue his employer! We were just grateful to have health insurance, and sick leave to recover. But not everyone thinks like us....
Why would anyone allow an uninsured tradesperson to work on your home?!? I know he was hired by the agent, but you should have instructed him or her to make sure they had insurance. The first question I ask anyone I'm considering hiring is "Are you licensed, bonded and insured" and I require proof. Society is definitely litigious and protecting yourself is key.
Good Luck. I hope he doesn't decide to sue!
This right here. Great post. I can't tell you how many times I get a "click" when I call and ask "contractors" that question. While it may cost a bit more to hire a real contractor it's worth it. I protect myself in every way possible. I don't care how good a deal someone wants to give me. If they are unlicensed they aren't working for me.
You should have no liability as his heart attack was not due to any negligence on your part. Unless you somehow contributed to his heart attack which I don't see how.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaryleeII
Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, anyways. We can't get any legal advice at 10 pm on a Saturday night! We used to carry an umbrella policy for just such situations, but we dropped it when it became too expensive. Before I get people screaming at me that umbrella policies are relatively inexpensive, etc, etc, the umbrella policy itself isn't too expensive, but, in order to have an umbrella, you must carry all your assets with the same insurer and insure all assets to the maximum liability afforded under the regular policy, then the umbrella kicks in. We were paying ~$350/month to insure 4 old, paid off cars to carry full liability! We were literally being eaten alive by insurance, and other recurring costs. We had to cut our budget somehow. We dropped to just basic liability for our vehicles, now we pay $80/month total for 4 vehicles!
Who told you that? It's not required to keep the same carrier for all your insurance and qualify for umbrella. You just have to list the assets you want covered with the carrier that has the umbrella and you do have to carry higher coverages as they will require it. But the policies can be with other companies. And yes it's more expensive. I'm paying (I think) just about 5800 a year in insurance policies and umbrella. Soon to be about 6500.
And unfortunately I have to pay for it. I do checks for new coverages about every two years. Unless some large discount or significant price difference most of the time it's so little it's not worth screwing with it.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 05-14-2016 at 10:29 PM..
A friend of mine was moving and one of her movers had a heart attack in her dining room. The kind that put him in the ICU for weeks. She'd used the company multiple times before, so had a relationship with them, and it was legit licensed company so there was no lawsuit. But let that be a lesson to anyone who thinks it might be a good idea to get some cheapie movers from Craigslist.
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