Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts

Re: Home accident

Before talking about becoming responsible for the liability, send written notice of the incident to your home insurance carrier. They will know best how to bring in the contractor's liability carrier. I suggest you shunt this off to the people who make resolving claims their living - after all you paid the premiums. I suppose this also points to the need to be sure that contractors have insurance.

Best wishes and good luck in making this someone else's problem.

Charles W. Cobb

Re: Home accident

It seems to me a near certainty that you are liable to the injured guest. But your contractor is liable to you for it, his insurer is liable to him and also directly to you or your insurer, ... etc. Obviously if you have insurance on the home, find out whether it covers casualty or not and in any case it probably covers the "medicals" for the accident, but find out. If you don't like the answer they give you, have a lawyer read the insurance contract because insurers don't always volunteer what they're truly liable for.

Don't get in any situation where you encourage your guest to claim against you for some insurance money. It's a bad idea, and you will live to regret it if you do. Put your carrier on notice, so to speak, by telling them what happened. They'll investigate.

Don't let your husband disturb the evidence! Leave the broken stair where it is until an investigator you have reason to trust has come to take pictures and samples, etc., and even then preserve it for the next person. Meanwhile, use the back stairs instead or go around this one.