Injured During Your Remodel? Whom You Should Sue

Posted on: 2 November 2016

If you decided recently to do a major remodeling project on part of your home, and you were injured in the process, you might be wondering if you have grounds for a lawsuit. That really depends on the circumstances surrounding your injury. Here is what a personal injury attorney might say about it, and whom you should sue if you have a case.

Sections of Your House Dropped on You

Granted, you should not have been near the construction zone while the contractor and his/her crew were working on your home. However, they should have been more careful about dropping things on your head or letting everything fall where it may. This type of personal injury, when it is severe enough, can go one of two ways:

  1. File a claim against your own homeowner's insurance for the injury, since it was part of your home that fell on your head
    OR
  2. You sue the contractor's crew for negligence and not following safety protocols

While you are more likely to receive compensation from your homeowner's insurance, you may still find that you have to sue the homeowner's insurance company when and if they refuse to pay. Suing the contractor is a slippery slope, since he/she may argue that you should not have been near the work zone at the time of your injury.

The Contractor's Tools Caused Your Injury

This is quite a different scenario than parts of your home falling on your head. When the contractor's tools have caused you injury, either because they were left on and you got too close to them, or because a crew member dropped a power tool on you, that becomes a lawsuit against the contractor. Even though the accident happened on your property, it occurred because the contractor's property (i.e., his/her tools) injured you. The same holds true if you are hit with a wayward nail from a pneumatic nail gun or some other freak power tool accident.

The Contractor's Vehicles Injured You

While it is unlikely that drivers of the trucks and construction vehicles would back over you personally, they may accidentally back over children or pets. Regardless of who is hit or run over by a work truck, the contractor should pay restitution to you for your medical/vet bills. If he/she refuses, then you should secure a personal injury lawyer and pursue the case until compensation has been granted.

For more information, talk to a professional like Walz Law Office.

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