If you get hurt while you’re visiting a friend, whether in their home or on their property, the injury claim you file will usually be paid by their homeowners’ insurance policy. Most of these policies have what is called a liability provision, and this covers damages for third-party claims, as opposed to first-party claims which are filed by the homeowner against their own policy.
What happens, though, when the policy doesn’t cover your damages, or refuses to pay out? Learn everything you need to know about homeowners’ insurance and injuries, including why having a personal injury attorney in your corner can help you get compensation.
Liability Coverage and Injuries
When you file an injury claim against someone’s homeowner’s policy, their liability coverage pays all of the losses associated with the injury, but only up to the limits of the coverage. This means that if the coverage limits are only $250,000, this is the most the policy will pay out, even if your damages amount to $500,000 by more.
In some cases, the insurance company may also offer an umbrella provision to handle amounts above the policy limits, but otherwise, the remaining damages fall directly on the shoulders of the homeowner.
Negligence and Liability
Of course, before you can get compensation, you must prove liability on the part of the homeowner. This revolves around the idea that the homeowner was in some way negligent towards you. Negligence means that the homeowner had a duty of care towards you, a responsibility to provide an environment that is relatively safe from the potential for harm, and that they violated this duty, which resulted in you getting hurt.
Proving negligence means that there was some condition that created a danger, that the homeowner knew the condition existed, and that they failed to properly address the situation. For example, if there was an ice storm two days before your visit, and the homeowner did nothing to treat the slippery sidewalk or stairs leading up to their home, if you slip and fall then you might be eligible for damages.
Collecting Damages
When you’re injured and it’s someone else’s fault, you may be eligible to collect a wide range of damages, including covering your medical bills, treatments, medication and rehabilitation; your pain and suffering; your lost wages and lost future earnings potential; pain and suffering; emotional damages; loss of relationships and consortium; quality of life damage and a range of other compensatory damages. Collecting on these, however, requires the right help.
Why You Need an Injury Attorney
Insurance companies rarely just pay out the full amount you need when asked. They try a number of tactics to avoid payment which can include denying the validity of your claim, accusing you of not being hurt that badly, claiming you were the one who was negligent or a variety of other rationalizations.
Challenging these, protecting your rights, and getting the compensation you deserve requires the services of a qualified personal injury attorney like those at Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers. We have a long track in legal dealings, and we charge no fee unless we get paid. Give us a call to set up a free consultation today!
