Guest Blogger: Are you Liable for Hurt Contractor on your Home?

Guest Blogger #603, Entry #1415, July 26, 2012

So you’ve decided that you’re finally ready to gut your outdated and non-functional kitchen and replace it with the gleaming, modern temple of culinary delights that you’ve been dreaming of in a renovated kitchen. Or perhaps you’re ready to remove the peeling, bordello wallpaper and ruby red tile from the distasteful master bathroom designed by the previous owners. Maybe you want to add a covered deck in the backyard to extend your usable square footage with an open-air, outdoor lounge. Whatever has got you looking for a contractor, there are a few things you need to know before you hire the first guy that gives you a good price. And one thing that few people consider is whether or not they’ll be liable if workers are injured on their property.

Get the facts before hiring a contractor for your renovation project

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Find out the facts first

The short answer is yes, you may be held liable for any accidents and injuries that occur on your property, whether they involve family, friends, clients, or contractors. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you WILL be held liable. For example, if you can prove negligence on the part of any injured parties (i.e. they were to blame for the accident) you will not be held liable. And in truth, even if you are legally responsible, you might not have to pay any medical bills, legal costs, or punitive damages; if the contractor has worker’s compensation or the company you hire carries its own liability coverage you shouldn’t be on the hook to pay anything. Still, it is important to understand how far your liability extends when you have workers on your property.

Research your contractors

You might have heard about a famous case in which a school was sued when a burglar (a former student) fell through a skylight and injured himself during the robbery, only to turn around and sue the school, eventually winning a settlement (Bodine v Enterprise High School). And while there are certainly a handful of outlandish cases like this one out there to scare the wary homeowner, the truth is that justice generally prevails. If a worker is behaving in an unsafe manner and suffers an injury, you shouldn’t be held liable for his medical bills or any other costs. But accidents do happen and it never hurts to be prepared.

Make sure contractors are practicing safe routines & standards

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The best place to start is by finding a contractor that has liability insurance of his own and carries worker’s compensation. This will alleviate the majority of your own responsibility should workers become injured in the course of doing their job on your property. But you may also want to check in with your own insurance provider. They will be able to inform you as to the extent of your liability in this situation, as well as how much your homeowner’s insurance policy will cover. In most cases you will have basic liability, but your policy provider may advise you on how to best avoid out-of-pocket expenses in the event of an injury and subsequent lawsuit (should one arise), and this could entail an additional, temporary policy or even a long-term switch to a more comprehensive insurance plan if you want to do extensive renovations. Once a personal injury lawyer Atlanta to Los Angeles gets involved you’ll be glad you have a beefy policy in place to protect yourself.

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