Injured At Someone's Home

[Snerdguy]

State of Ohio

My friend was visiting someone he knows and slipped on a loose step. He broke his ankle in 3 places and is laid up at my house because his house has stairs. He has had a low paying job for a while and has no medical insurance and now he can't work either. It looks like it could be weeks before he will be allowed to go back to work.

He tried to inquire of his friend as to the carrier of their home owner's insurace and was met with hostility and non-cooperation. I don't think there will be much of an issue proving the homeowner was negligent because they are the kind of people who make very little effort to maintain anything on their property. The step gave way because it was broken and had gone long without repair. But, my friend is unable to get photographs of the situation because he is immobile.

Is there a way to identify the liable party's insurance provider so a claim can be made without having to get lawyers involved???

 

[Ladyback1]

State of Ohio

My friend was visiting someone he knows and slipped on a loose step. He broke his ankle in 3 places and is laid up at my house because his house has stairs. He has had a low paying job for a while and has no medical insurance and now he can't work either. It looks like it could be weeks before he will be allowed to go back to work.

He tried to inquire of his friend as to the carrier of their home owner's insurace and was met with hostility and non-cooperation. I don't think there will be much of an issue proving the homeowner was negligent because they are the kind of people who make very little effort to maintain anything on their property. The step gave way because it was broken and had gone long without repair. But, my friend is unable to get photographs of the situation because he is immobile.

Is there a way to identify the liable party's insurance provider so a claim can be made without having to get lawyers involved???

Doubtful....

Here's something for your friend to consider: Would a reasonable and prudent person used that step? Meaning, would someone who was coming to the house (who wasn't a friend, think more employee from gas company) felt the step was safe and used the step?

I would suspect that in order to obtain that information (even assuming they have homeowners/renters insurance) is going to require an attorney.

 

[Nellibelle]

Doubtful....

Here's something for your friend to consider: Would a reasonable and prudent person used that step? Meaning, would someone who was coming to the house (who wasn't a friend, think more employee from gas company) felt the step was safe and used the step?

I would suspect that in order to obtain that information (even assuming they have homeowners/renters insurance) is going to require an attorney.

Give me a break!! You're using a defense that hardly ever works for the homeowner regarding negligence causing injuries. It is ridiculous to believe that even the most prudent person would scutinize each step for possible defects that would result in an injury.

OP: You need to have your friend talk to an Attorney, who will help him get the information he needs to file a claim against the homeowner's insurance, so he can recover medical bills and pain and suffering due to the negligent homeowner!

 

[Proserpina]

Give me a break!! You're using a defense that hardly ever works for the homeowner regarding negligence causing injuries. It is ridiculous to believe that even the most prudent person would scutinize each step for possible defects that would result in an injury.

OP: You need to have your friend talk to an Attorney, who will help him get the information he needs to file a claim against the homeowner's insurance, so he can recover medical bills and pain and suffering due to the negligent homeowner!

Not surprisingly, you clearly missed the entire point.

Carry on.

 

[Ladyback1]

Give me a break!! You're using a defense that hardly ever works for the homeowner regarding negligence causing injuries. It is ridiculous to believe that even the most prudent person would scutinize each step for possible defects that would result in an injury.

OP: You need to have your friend talk to an Attorney, who will help him get the information he needs to file a claim against the homeowner's insurance, so he can recover medical bills and pain and suffering due to the negligent homeowner!

ummmm.....once again, you are mistaken. Maybe your oblivious about behaving in a prudent and reasonable fashion. Most people are not!

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to the modified comparative negligence law in Ohio: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2315.33

Five states have contributory negligence laws. In these states, if a party is found to have contributed to his injury, he is barred from collecting damages (with a few exceptions). The rest of the states, including Ohio, are comparative negligence states. Damages in these states are apportioned according to degrees (or percentage) of fault.

Here is a link that outlines the differences between comparative negligence and contributory negligence: http://www.the-injury-lawyer-directory.com/negligence.html

Snerdguy, if your friend is elderly, or indigent, or both, he can probably find free or low cost legal assistance in your area of Ohio. He can visit the Ohio Bar website for resources (http://www.ohiobar.org) or he can visit the Ohio Legal Services website (http://www.ohiolegalservices.org).

I hope your friend's ankle recovery is a complete and speedy one.