Can I sue my friends home owners insurance for the damages done to my son's teeth when he fell on her porch?

Answer 1

you cant sue the insurance company. You would have to sue your friend. Maybe his/ her home owners insurance would respond. Probably they wouldnt. It just depends on if your friend level of negligence. (by state)

Answer 2

This is easy. Did he fall because the porch floor was flooded with water? Or, was there a hole in the floor? Or, was there a board or nail sticking up out of the floor? The point is: Was your son just being a kid, running around, and had an unfortunate fall? Or, was your friend negligent by having a poorly maintained home? If it was the latter, you might make a claim against her. If it was the former, chalk it up to "boys will be boys" and use your own insurance.

There is one more possibility, however. Homeowners insurance typically has a coverage called Medical Payments which is really a "good will" coverage for accidents that happen to a visitor...so they don't have to sue you. If she's a good friend and you have the insurance coverage yourself, why put her through that? If it's costing you an arm and a leg because you have no insurance, you might consider it.

Answer 3

I may ask you that how much you are looking for the damage on your son's injury. If the amount is covered by the homeowners medical liability, then you don't have to sue. However, you are looking for higher amount then the medical liability coverage limit, then you have to sue the home owner to get it.

If you own the House, check your homeowner policy in the medical coverage and liability coverage. Medical coverage starts from $500 to $10,000 or more depends on the policy.

Always check the better price w/ better cover is not hurt you.

check this out:

http://www.insureme.com/landing.aspx?Refby=614136&Type=home

I save the over 25% premium with a better coverage.

Of course, you don't want to sue your friend. Try to avoid this situation with a better coverage on your insurance....

Answer 4

No, you have to sue your friend - the insurance company doesn't own the property, and didn't cause the damage.

The homeowners policy has two coverages that might be applicable - medical payments, which is a no-fault coverage for damages, it pays straight medical/dental bills, no pain & suffering or disfigurement. Then there's the liability coverage - and you'd have to prove that your friend was negligent, and the negligence caused the injury. So if the porch was in disrepair, or he fell down steps and tehre wasn't a handrail, it's easy. If he was goofing around and just slipped, it won't be easy.

Answer 5

Technically you have to sue your friend, claiming she was negligent as that the porch is a danger, ie that it is either in a state of disrepair of that is have been manufactured using products that are unsuitable (a floor that gets slippery when wet for example). Should you win your claim in a civil court, which i think is incredibly unlikely, she would then have to see if her insurance would pay, again very very unlikely.

Besides the legal stuff it is incredibly sad that you are even thinking of sueing over an accident of this nature, if everyone sued then no one would allow friends in thier houses etc for fear of litigation. Surely your health insurance should pay for this, kids will always hurt themselves call it an act of god.

Answer 6

1) You can sue anyone, anytime -- but there are no guarantees for success

2) Paul D had the best answer (above)

3) It's likely that if you did wina settlement from their insurance company, your friend will get a steep increase in their homeowners rates come renewal. So they end up paying for it anyway or have to seek new insurance (with a claim on their record which means new insurance will likely be more expensive or them to get as well). This is your friend, right?

Answer 7

Premises liability is the body of law that determines the responsibility of a property owner for injuries suffered by others while on his property.

What if someone gets injured while at the home of a neighbor, who invited him there for a party?
Invited social guests may be able to recover from their hosts depending on how the injury occurred. A homeowner has the responsibility to tell their guests about any dangerous conditions that may be on the property. For example, if there is a broken step going to the back patio and the host does not tell their guests about it, the owner may be held liable for injuries incurred. The host should warn guests about dangers, or repair as needed.


ref:
http://www.isenberg-hewitt.com/premises_liability_faqs.html

Contact a local lawyer. Many times, they may not charge, if they are not taking up the case !


All the best

regards

Ramesh
The Human Search Engine
http://www.alluwanted.com

Answer 8

Why would you want to? Your kid fell. Kids fall all of the time. I fell when I was a kid and broke my arm on a neighbors driveway but my parents didn't sue the neighbor. It was my fault. That is the problem these day, everyone is looking to sue someone else and it brings the prices up to cover these lawsuits. If you sue just be aware that someone else will have to pay higher insurance premiums to cover the expenses they had to pay their lawyer for you sueing. It is your conscience you have to deal with.

Answer 9

No. Unless you have a very good case to say that it was the INSURER's negligence, not your friend's or simply your son's clumsiness.

Your friend is responsible for the upkeep of the house, not the insurers. If she was proveably negligent in leaving a loose board or a damaged step unmended, then you might have a case. It depends if you want to stay friends.

Answer 10

You should file a claim first w/ the ins. co. usually the bodily injury in the owners policy will cover injuries that occurred on the property. You just need their policy # or ins. company and verification of I.D. File a claim and investigation is done and that is about it. But using the word sue is not going to get you anywhere in the beginning.