Hello,
I am GC’ing my home, and was hoping to get some clearification on an issue. I have talked to several insurance agents, one of which has told me that despite a BRP and subcontractors being fully covered with workers comp and 1mil worth of liability, if someone gets hurt I can still be held liable?
Another insurance guy said “someone can always sue you it doesn’t mean he’s going to win”.
This seems very nebulous. I am trying to get a clearer picture on what i can do to best limit any chance of being sued and having to pay some substantial dollar amount. I would expect that providing a safe work environment would be one thing. But what constitutes a safe work environment and is there a set guidline to go by.
With using reputable subcontractors, what’s the likelihood of such a scenerio? If it means anything, i live in NY
THanks,
DP
Edited 1/9/2004 12:50:21 PM ET by dperfe
Replies
http://www.overlawyered.com/archives/000485.html
"November 07, 2003
Homeowner not liable for garden-wall crash
Speeding through a residential neighborhood, Ross Duran "failed to stop at a dead-end, crashing his car through a cinder block wall and slamming into a flowerbed in Joseph Volpe's back yard." And then one of Duran's passengers sued -- who? She sued "[homeowner] Volpe and Pardee Construction Co. of Nevada claiming their negligence was at least partially to blame because of the location of the flowerbed behind the wall in Volpe's back yard." The case went all the way to the Nevada Supreme Court, which rejected her lawsuit, saying it would be an "undue burden" on residential property owners to make their yards crashworthy.
("Nevada Supreme Court rejects lawsuit against homeowner", Las Vegas Sun, Nov. 6) (via Lori Patel, "Today's Brief", Law.com, Nov. 7)"
Now the HO and Construciton Co (both in your case) did not have to pay out the BIG BUCKS.
But I wonder want the legal fees where for the HO/Construction Co to get it upto the Nevada S.C.