Premises Liability Homeowner liability question

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Buck_Walleye

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I own a house 100 miles away, so I rent it through a property manager.
He hired a guy to mow the lawn and the guy twisted an ankle. I have homeowners, and they said I was covered for renters, however, they refused to pay his claim. He is sending me a summons. I have a contract with the property manager, and homeowners insurance, I thought I had all my ducks in a row. I have to go to court, but the insurance rep said at worst, they would have to pay the claim, and there is nothing to worry about. Should I lawyer up, or should I trust the insurance rep?
 
Don't trust the insurance company for one second. Call a local personal injury attorney and do the free consultation.

Your defense may be, too, that they guy that was hired should have workers comp insurance to cover this.
 
Yea, that's what my gut says. In my mind, I would say that the property manager should take care of him first, since I never told the guy to go on my property. Thats
the point my insurance company is making too. But I think that after I receive the summons, I'm gonna consult with a lawyer to be safe. Shitty world we live in sometimes I guess. Being an adult sucks.
 
Actually, I have thought of a question - how did the guy twist his ankle? Was there some sort of hole or dip in the ground or was it level ground and he just stepped wrong somehow? Even if this does go to court, that needs to be asked, because you may be able to show that there was nothing wrong with your property that could cause this.

And actually, I'm going to back up on the call the lawyer part for a moment (you can consult wtih one, but hold off on actually hiring for now) The reason is that your insurance compnay should have a legal team to fight this one. And they are the ones on the hook, so they will fight real hard for your side.
 
Yea, the insurance company has been great so far. The have an adjuster going over the case. He is the one that claims I/we are not liable. There was a cover over a basement enrty way and the guy stepped on it, and fell partially through. He really didn't need to be over there, and had no reason to step on it. It had nothing to do with him cutting the lawn. My contract with the property manager also says that he will take care of anything that seems like it could be a problem.
The adjuster is the one that called me a week or so ago, and said that I should expect a summons. He said that after I receive it, to mail it to them, and they will assign a defender to the case.
It sounds like they are going to work pretty hard for me, I just never know who to trust. I just wondered if there was a chance that if I/we lose, they could walk away from responsibility. I really don't think that if they've taken responsiblilty so far (adjuster, assigning me a lawyer), that they could do that. I just never know. Thanks for all the advice so far.
 
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