Need answer on liability question

[udoitnow]

I am in Indiana.
My husband (Sam) and son (Chad) were privately hired to fixed a roof for a friend. My sons friend (Levi) asked if he could help as well to make extra money. He fell off the roof. Levi has no insurance and the docs will not operate on his injured foot until he comes up with half up front which is over 7500.00. He wants to collect from the homeowner but we took him to the hospital in the car as we had no idea of the seriousness of his injuries. There is no police report of any kind. Its been 3 weeks since the accident and the homeowner is still unaware of the accident. Is there something Levi can do to recover his medical bills? Who is liable? Are we since my husband was the one in charge of the job they were doing? We are concerned he will sue us. Our land is all in my name so if he sues us can he touch my land since Sam and I are married?
Just a little nervous.

[justalayman]

why would the homeowner be responsible for your husbands employee?

workers comp comes to mind but I am betting your husband doesn't carry WC.

that is why a contractor charges what they do. They have all these little things like WC and liability insurance to pay for.

[udoitnow]

My husband was just doing this to help a friend to get his roof fixed before winter. Levi was only helping so WC was not considered unfortunately. Sam is not an employer nor Levi an employee. We did however get paid for helping. We are just not sure at this point what Levi can do in terms of sueing us or the homeowner. Any suggestions?

[justalayman]

Sam is not an employer

yes he is

nor Levi an employee.

yes he is

We did however get paid for helping.

that means Sam is a contractor. Hopefully he has all the required licenses and the proper permits were purchased for this work.

We are just not sure at this point what Levi can do in terms of sueing us or the homeowner.

Levi was Sams employee, regardless how you want to claim otherwise. Sam contracted to repair the roof and he fired Levi to help. That is an employer/employee relationship.

Levi might try seeking compensation from homeowners insurance but due to the fact this has not been disclosed to the homeowner for for at least 3 weeks. Homeowners insurance is going to argue not liable due to your husband was acting as a contractor and you failed to notify the homeowner of the injury. If it were my house and you came up 3 weeks later and said "oh, by the way, one of my employees fell and git hurt while working on your house and we want to file a claim with your homeowners insurance". My repsonse would be "get bent and go away"

This is beyond the reach of small claims so you would want a lawyer anyway. Find a personal injury attorney and go for the free consultation and see what he says.

Now, there is one way to look at this differently; if the homeowner hired Levi, then the homeowner was acting as the contractor/employer and then the homeowners insurance may be responsible to Levi but I would hold my breath on it.

[Beanie711]

Fall protection comes to mind....

Make sure your husband has it the next time he decides to do a roof job. It is, after all, required by OSHA, and this is a perfect example of why.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by Beanie711

Fall protection comes to mind....

Make sure your husband has it the next time he decides to do a roof job. It is, after all, required by OSHA, and this is a perfect example of why.

but beanie, you missed the part where OP's husband wasn't doing this as a contractor so OSHA does not apply

[Beanie711]

Originally Posted by justalayman

but beanie, you missed the part where OP's husband wasn't doing this as a contractor so OSHA does not apply

oh, that's riiiiiiiight....

I forgot that a person who gets paid for his trade service and recruits others to help him doesn't fall under the definition of a contractor...

[Zigner]

And, if our wonderful state, the homeowner DOES need to worry...

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by Zigner

And, if our wonderful state, the homeowner DOES need to worry...

are you a hoosier zigner? I probably already knew that but am getting forgetful as I get older.

It is really a shame the homeowner could be held liable for anything such as this when they hire a person to do the work but, nobody said all our laws make sense.

[las365]

I'll take the unpopular position that the homeowner does have the responsibility to hire a contractor who is licensed, takes safety precautions and has proper insurance. And that insurance is designed to cover accidents. I don't think there would be anything wrong with making a claim under the homeowner's coverage. EXCEPT:

Failing to report the accident to the homeowner when it happened or for weeks afterward is going to make it very tough to collect anything at all under the homeowner's policy. Levi could have gotten hurt anywhere, and his witnesses who will claim it happened at that house won't have much credibility.

[Willlyjo]

Originally Posted by las365

I'll take the unpopular position that the homeowner does have the responsibility to hire a contractor who is licensed, takes safety precautions and has proper insurance. And that insurance is designed to cover accidents. I don't think there would be anything wrong with making a claim under the homeowner's coverage. EXCEPT:

Failing to report the accident to the homeowner when it happened or for weeks afterward is going to make it very tough to collect anything at all under the homeowner's policy. Levi could have gotten hurt anywhere, and his witnesses who will claim it happened at that house won't have much credibility.

If I was Levi, I would request from the person who allowed me to help with the roof the funds with which to take care of my foot injury. Otherwise I would litigate.