What is the name of your state? Michigan
On 10/18/06, a friend was taking a shower and fell out of the bathtub at my house. He did not slip; he was turning around to close the curtain, lost his balance, and fell out of the tub, landing on his arm. He did not think he was seriously hurt at the time, just very sore, so he did NOT go to the ER, or otherwise do anything about it other than talk about it. I was there when he fell, so I know he fell. After about a month, his arm was not getting any better, so he started going to doctors. He learned he has a severely torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, and needs surgery/rehab that will put him out of work for about 8 weeks, maybe more. He does NOT have disability insurance, and only about 2 weeks of sick time, so he will not be paid his wages for the rest of the time he's off. His union suggested he try to recover the lost wages from my homeowner's insurance, since he fell on my property. I filed the claim, and was told there was no negligence nor any question of liability, so it falls under the medical expense reimbursement, for which my policy had a $1000 limit. They offered to issue him a check for the $1000. My friend feels that, if the insurer was willing to just write a check like that with "no questions asked", that they are just anxious to close the claim, and he could possibly get more with the help of an attorney. He insists that he will not pursue that route if it would in any way harm me personally, or affect my current homeowner's insurance. He also insists he is seeking only his lost wages, and not any pain and suffering or other damages. But, I fear that, once a lawyer is involved, and starts convincing him otherwise, and flashing around $$$, he may think otherwise (not to mention the lawyer fees the lawyer will get). My question is this. If he pursues this further, can this in any way harm me personally, or affect my current insurance policy, or will it just be handled between my friend, the attrney, and the insurer? Incidentally, the insurer handling the claim is NOT my current homeowner's company - I had switched well before any claims were made, or even any doctors visits, but the incident occured under the old policy.
On 10/18/06, a friend was taking a shower and fell out of the bathtub at my house. He did not slip; he was turning around to close the curtain, lost his balance, and fell out of the tub, landing on his arm. He did not think he was seriously hurt at the time, just very sore, so he did NOT go to the ER, or otherwise do anything about it other than talk about it. I was there when he fell, so I know he fell. After about a month, his arm was not getting any better, so he started going to doctors. He learned he has a severely torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, and needs surgery/rehab that will put him out of work for about 8 weeks, maybe more. He does NOT have disability insurance, and only about 2 weeks of sick time, so he will not be paid his wages for the rest of the time he's off. His union suggested he try to recover the lost wages from my homeowner's insurance, since he fell on my property. I filed the claim, and was told there was no negligence nor any question of liability, so it falls under the medical expense reimbursement, for which my policy had a $1000 limit. They offered to issue him a check for the $1000. My friend feels that, if the insurer was willing to just write a check like that with "no questions asked", that they are just anxious to close the claim, and he could possibly get more with the help of an attorney. He insists that he will not pursue that route if it would in any way harm me personally, or affect my current homeowner's insurance. He also insists he is seeking only his lost wages, and not any pain and suffering or other damages. But, I fear that, once a lawyer is involved, and starts convincing him otherwise, and flashing around $$$, he may think otherwise (not to mention the lawyer fees the lawyer will get). My question is this. If he pursues this further, can this in any way harm me personally, or affect my current insurance policy, or will it just be handled between my friend, the attrney, and the insurer? Incidentally, the insurer handling the claim is NOT my current homeowner's company - I had switched well before any claims were made, or even any doctors visits, but the incident occured under the old policy.