when did I become the responsible adult?
Jul. 2nd, 2010 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serynNot the place to ask this, of course, but elsewhere a blog post was talking about hiring contractors for home improvements and mentioned that one needs to see proof of insurance because if a worker is injured in your home, you are responsible.
I live in an apartment that I rent. Maintenance is not my responsibility. I get zero control over the contractors they bring in, the timing of projects, or the quality of materials. The contractors they brought in when there was a giant gaping hole in my wall stood on the chair from my desk. First I was pissed because they're not huge on cleanliness. Later I asked the building management if the contractors are insured. She didn't know. I asked who was responsible if they were hurt working in my place. She said it wasn't me. I'm actually not sure that's true. Obviously it would be unfair if I am held liable for contractor injuries because they have no insurance and I cannot refuse to let them do the work. And obviously contractors who do not have their own ladders or insurance are not contractors you want working in your home so any reasonable person would choose someone else. But I'm pretty sure there would be, at the very least, a court battle.
Everyone knows that if something goes to court, you're in big trouble financially. Because just hiring the attorney for something that goes to trial is going to run the cost of a medium size car. (It's less if they just do paperwork and settle, probably.) But for civil trials, there are no court-appointed attorneys. I have renter's insurance, but I doubt it will be sufficient coverage if someone is seriously injured in my home. I can go out and purchase an umbrella policy which only kicks in if my other insurance is exceeded and these policies are not hugely expensive considering my likely exposure. However, I think the building management should hire licensed contractors who carry their own insurance instead of pushing the risk onto the tenants. And when the building manager says I don't have to worry, I'm pretty sure I should double-check that since she is not a lawyer and cannot provide legal advice.
So. Not asking the ambient ether to provide legal advice either, does anyone know who I should ask? I can call the city, who supposedly is happy to help people who check on home improvement projects in advance. I could call my insurance agent, but they're going to try to sell me umbrella coverage "just for my piece of mind." I'm not sure who I should check with. If I had local lawyer friends I'd ask if they could recommend someone who was suitable to consult. At this point I'd pay $100 to know for sure and if the building management was wrong about my liability, to get advice on how to proceed.
I live in an apartment that I rent. Maintenance is not my responsibility. I get zero control over the contractors they bring in, the timing of projects, or the quality of materials. The contractors they brought in when there was a giant gaping hole in my wall stood on the chair from my desk. First I was pissed because they're not huge on cleanliness. Later I asked the building management if the contractors are insured. She didn't know. I asked who was responsible if they were hurt working in my place. She said it wasn't me. I'm actually not sure that's true. Obviously it would be unfair if I am held liable for contractor injuries because they have no insurance and I cannot refuse to let them do the work. And obviously contractors who do not have their own ladders or insurance are not contractors you want working in your home so any reasonable person would choose someone else. But I'm pretty sure there would be, at the very least, a court battle.
Everyone knows that if something goes to court, you're in big trouble financially. Because just hiring the attorney for something that goes to trial is going to run the cost of a medium size car. (It's less if they just do paperwork and settle, probably.) But for civil trials, there are no court-appointed attorneys. I have renter's insurance, but I doubt it will be sufficient coverage if someone is seriously injured in my home. I can go out and purchase an umbrella policy which only kicks in if my other insurance is exceeded and these policies are not hugely expensive considering my likely exposure. However, I think the building management should hire licensed contractors who carry their own insurance instead of pushing the risk onto the tenants. And when the building manager says I don't have to worry, I'm pretty sure I should double-check that since she is not a lawyer and cannot provide legal advice.
So. Not asking the ambient ether to provide legal advice either, does anyone know who I should ask? I can call the city, who supposedly is happy to help people who check on home improvement projects in advance. I could call my insurance agent, but they're going to try to sell me umbrella coverage "just for my piece of mind." I'm not sure who I should check with. If I had local lawyer friends I'd ask if they could recommend someone who was suitable to consult. At this point I'd pay $100 to know for sure and if the building management was wrong about my liability, to get advice on how to proceed.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-03 03:44 am (UTC)Another option is to check with your city. I don't know if you live in an area with a good city webpage, but that's a place to start. There's probably a division for housing issues that should have a number you can call. I don't think there's a need to talk to an attorney for this; save the dough.
My gut instinct is that you have zero liability for injuries sustained in your apartment by contractors hired by your landlord. Laws vary state to state, though, so ymmv.
(insert non-practicing attorney disclaimer here)
no subject
Date: 2010-07-03 05:39 am (UTC)Thanks for being reassuring.
Since I have the basic liability coverage through the renters insurance maybe I'll just not worry about it. I'm going to have my policy re-evaluated soonish (like calling them is on my list of things to do) and that might be a good thing to ask. The problem was that liability coverage is usually limited and medical bills even for small problems are often huge.
I will definitely seek out the actual regulations or call whatever housing department exists before hiring an attorney.... largely because I don't otherwise have an attorney so finding one would be an enormous undertaking.