I thought insurance companies are good with defense in a slip/trip and fall
They are ''IF'' there is a defense...you admit (several times) that
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bad steps in a common area. I know i was suppose to maintain them and keep them in good repair but at times im so busy with other apartments and what not
what you are thinking about is fraud....this sure doesn't seem to be....and sounds to me that there is NO defense.....I'm glad you called them and that this tentant will be taken care of....Please please please fix the steps and whatever else is in bad repair at your propertys....Keep us updated...also you do understand don't you that it isn't only tenants that can sue you for poor conditions, most particularly in a common area right? If the mail man falls on these or a guest of your tenants, or me for that matter...same thing... _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 6:24 pm Post subject: can do this..
I suppose that is your responsibility to make sure your tenants are safe because they are paying you monthly. As you said you are busy, its better of appointing a supporting officer to look after all your buildings. that would pay off.
What would my adjuster do once they recieve the building inspector code reports about the dangerous conditions that exist on the property? Will they want to settle with my tenant or not? Will they ask me questions of why i didnt fix them conditions? How will this affect my rates? Should it they affect it anyway, they are getting fixed now? _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
What the adjuster will want to do is contact the injured party and speak to her about the situation. The adjuster will also contact you to discuss. You do want to let them know about the inspectors report.
Your carrier is going to provide you a defense. This can be issuing payment to the injured party in return for a release so your no longer liable and/or providing a defense in general, disputing liability to any degree. This is why they need to know about the inspectors report... so they understand how they should approach the situation. You don't want them to not understand the situation, possibly deny the claim, have this person obtain an attorney and possibly file suit against you and then have it come out that there is an inspectors report on the problem.
You may have medical payment coverage on your policy that can be extended to the injured party. This payment can be offered regardless of liability. This can go a long way in relieving the pressure of medical bills being paid by the injured party. If I can tell someone, I'm looking into this claim but in the meantime I can address your medical bills so there are no issues there, it can go a long way into showing good faith.
The adjuster will probably ask question for which your reply will not paint you in good light. This is the adjusters job and they do it all the time. So they are not going to pass judgement. Trust me... no matter how wrong something in this case is, the adjuster has seen/heard _much_ worse. Their job is to handle the situation, not to pass judgement. You pay a premium for this service. Your the insurance companies customer.
Lori said there isnt a defense in this situation. I just want this all to go away. I hope this is the last time im going to have to deal with something like this? _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
Well, for the most part that is true but defense is also relative to the status of the claim. That is, if the insurance company can handle the claim quickly with just the injured party they will be more willing to pay the claim. But if the claim were to go to an attorney and/or have suit filed, then they would look at every defense possible. So certain defenses can be argued but they may be minor. This as notice, did you know or should you have known about the hazard. This is always going to be a grey area.... should you have known about the problem. Your insurance company can always raise the argument that you should not have known. Did the claimants shoes possibly contributed to the fall, etc. I think you have liability against you... but there are always mitigating factors to that liability.
tcope explained this very well, and he and I know more than likely from what you have said in this thread.. The adjuster will get to the tenant as fast as possible and hopefully settle the claim on your behave (pay them)...as it appears there is no defense (you say there are many hazardous conditions)...there most certainly is zero defense, and likely a higher payment should there be another injury at the same area AFTER you were made aware of the danger and neglected again to repair it....Juries look very poorly at landlords that say they knew about the problems, but were just too busy to get it taken care of...as stated before the next question out of a claimant attorneys mouth will be, 'were you too busy to deposit those rent checks?' see what I mean about no defense...doesn't mean they won't defend it if the claimant for example wants a million bucks for a 5k claim....
Please be totally open and honest with the adjuster including the inspection report, when you were notified etc...the last thing you need now is to provide false information and get this claim denied... _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
Yes, we need to be very careful in handling these situations.
OK, content.... _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
If this was to go to court what kind of court handle these suit? I know it wouldnt be small claim. _________________ Register Now to have your Insurance queries solved.
If this was to go to court what kind of court handle these suit?
It would be in a civil court...
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I know it wouldnt be small claim.
How do you KNOW that? What EXACTLY is the tenants injury? Most of the time these claims do not go to court...so honestly I wouldn't get myself too worked up about that right now.... _________________ Have you been helped by a poster? Do you want to show your appreciation? YOU CAN !! Just simply click on the donate button and send them some coin!
