Hello,

Just for general knowledge: there are 3 parties involved. The contractor/builder of the house , the trim guys (us) and the isulation installers
I recently had some of my employees install a drop down stairs in a ceiling.
It was correctly installed. Later that same day another worker (from what I was told) tripped in the attic heading toward the stairs. He fell out of the attic and onto the stairway getting his ankle caught between the treads. Obiviously he broke his ankle and is wanting money.

The contractor delivered another stairs that day and we installed it, and through the other away. Its been almost a year, and to my knowledge there were never any pictures taken of the job or the damaged stairway.

My question is I know you can sue whomever for whatever , but am I at fault.

Later that day I spoke to the forum on that job. He said this guy has been hurt 3 other times before this last time.

I install sometimes 5 to 6 of these a month for the last few years and have never had this situation arise.

Any comments are welcome. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by glavine

Hello,
I recently had some of my employees install a drop down stairs in a ceiling.
It was correctly installed. Later that same day another worker (from what i was told) tripped in the attic heading toward the stairs. He fell out of the attic and onto the stairway getting his ankle caught between the treads. Obiviously he broke his ankle and is wanting money.

The contractor delivered another stairs that day and we installed it, and through the other away. Its been almost a year, and to my knowledge there were never any pictures taken of the job or the damaged stairway.

My question is I know you can sue whomever for whatever , but am I at fault.

Later that day I spoke to the forum on that job. He said this guy has been hurt 3 other times before this last time.

I install sometimes 5 to 6 of these a month for the last few years and have never had this situation arise.

any comments are welcome. thanks

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He - obviously - collects workers' comp. Your comp carrier may choose to sue someone else for their out of pocket.

Yes, if he worked for you you are responsible for keeping the workplace safe.

And the homeowner can also be sued for the same reason - unsafe work place.

There is always the possibility of a third party claim if someone else was negligent.

I'm not saying it's fair, I'm just saying that's how it works.

The fact that he's been hurt before does not matter - if he's accident prone, he's accident prone and should not suffer for it.

Thanks for the info.

Just to clairify if it matters.

There are three involved. The builder / contractor
The trim guys (us)
The insulation installers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by glavine

thanks for the info.

just to clairify if it matters.

There are three involved. The builder / contractor
The trim guys (us)
The insulation installers

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If the house is sold, not a spec house, there are four parties - and, yes, any or all of you could get sued if it goes that far. I'm not saying anyone would win - I'm saying it's the shotgun approach - shoot at everybody.

At the moment it will be a Workers Comp claim and your insurance carrier will decide whether it wants to sue to get its money back OR that the injured person will retain an Attorney who will look into third party lawsuits. That gets very tricky when it's Workers Comp.