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Friend injured at my house.

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racincrazy

Junior Member
State of Alabama.
I had been replacing the siding on my house and had scaffolding set up do do the upper floor. My friend of 40 years stopped by to give me a hand and the scaffolding collapsed because there was old clay pipe buried under one of the legs. The rain the night before must have softened the ground up because I had been on it the day before and it never gave any. Anyway we fell about 20 feet to the ground. I only suffered minor sprains but he fractured his hip, ankle and ruptured disk in his back. I know this was my fault for not placing extra support under the legs. Anyway my homeowners insurance sent a guy to speak with me and he told me not to talk to my friend and do not admit any fault. The thing is the guy hurt is my lifelong best friend. He is like a brother and there is no way I am going to shun him in his time of need. When I told the insurance guy that I was going to help "I will call him Gary" financially because he can't work right now he had a come apart and said for me to stay away and me helping him would be like admitting guilt. My question is can the insurance dictate whether or not I can talk to the injured party. Thanks
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
No, but it can dictate whether they cover any forthcoming claims. (You are supposed to cooperate with them.)
 

quincy

Senior Member
State of Alabama.
I had been replacing the siding on my house and had scaffolding set up do do the upper floor. My friend of 40 years stopped by to give me a hand and the scaffolding collapsed because there was old clay pipe buried under one of the legs. The rain the night before must have softened the ground up because I had been on it the day before and it never gave any. Anyway we fell about 20 feet to the ground. I only suffered minor sprains but he fractured his hip, ankle and ruptured disk in his back. I know this was my fault for not placing extra support under the legs. Anyway my homeowners insurance sent a guy to speak with me and he told me not to talk to my friend and do not admit any fault. The thing is the guy hurt is my lifelong best friend. He is like a brother and there is no way I am going to shun him in his time of need. When I told the insurance guy that I was going to help "I will call him Gary" financially because he can't work right now he had a come apart and said for me to stay away and me helping him would be like admitting guilt. My question is can the insurance dictate whether or not I can talk to the injured party. Thanks
You can speak to your injured friend but anything you say to the friend can affect your insurer’s ability to settle the claim - and you could find yourself with an insurance policy that is not renewed.

Let your insurer do his job.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Anyway my homeowners insurance sent a guy to speak with me and he told me not to talk to my friend and do not admit any fault.
Absolutely correct.

The thing is the guy hurt is my lifelong best friend. He is like a brother and there is no way I am going to shun him in his time of need.
Your friend will sue you in a heartbeat if your insurance company doesn't offer him big bucks.

You can be empathetic if you want to but don't "help" him financially. If you prejudice your insurance company's right to investigate and defend (if appropriate) you could lose your insurance and then your financial "help" to your friend could end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars of your money.

scaffolding collapsed because there was old clay pipe buried under one of the legs. The rain the night before must have softened the ground up because I had been on it the day before and it never gave any.
Given that explanation, I don't see any negligence on your part so your insurance company might have a good defense against any such allegation. Though the claims people may want to offer a settlement eventually with no admission of liability. Leave that discussion to them.

Meantime, If your friend is incurring any immediate medical bills, get copies and submit them to your claim rep under your Medical Payments Coverage. Med Pay pays without fault. Read your policy to see how much is available. There is no problem telling your friend that some of his bills can be paid under Med Pay but that's all you say. The only other thing you say is "I don't know. Here's the claim rep's phone number."
 

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