Ask Me Help Desk - Liability question

Liability question

Greetings:
I asked an old friend who I haven't seem much for a long time to help me roof my small house as he has scaffolding. I'm a busted up 64 year old and he's 72. I've already given him about $1200 cash and he hasn't done much work. He's sleeping all the time. Yesterday he told me that he has Narcolepsy but I'm thinking that he's got early stages of Aizheimer's Disease too. We don't have insurance because our house is about 125 years old. I'm thinking that he's going to fall asleep and fall off the roof and we would be in for the medical cost because he's not a licensed roofer. We'd have to take him to the VA... he already needs a new knee and he's like me, they "lost our injury records" so we have to pay.
I don't want him here anymore because we've mainly worked on his scaffolding, but my wife wants him to come back because she likes him. I say "keep him off the roof" because he's all the time sleeping and now I find out all this about him.
What do you folks think? I wouldn't pay for an injury that I received in the navy and they took the money out of my social security check.

Thanks
jrgm13

Get rid of him, of like you say, if he falls off the roof you will have to pay if he sues you.

You didn't ask your question, but I imagine it is something like "Will I be liable if he falls off the roof and sues me?"

As Tickle says, probably so. You know about the narcolepsy and the bad knee, both of which could contribute to a fall. In my opinion, it would have nothing to do with the fact that he is not a licensed roofer.

As the others have noted, you would be liable. Homeowner's insurance is not only about damage to the home, but its about liability as well. You should, at least, have liability coverage.

He would go to the VA and they would sue me for sure because they went after me before for a small amount of money and the expense tacked on was more then the bill. I didn't want to pay because it was something that I got in the navy... but they showed me... and they'd do it again. Thanks folks...

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK lawyer

You didn't ask your question, but I imagine it is something like "Will I be liable if he falls off the roof and sues me?"

As Tickle says, probably so. You know about the narcolepsy and the bad knee, both of which could contribute to a fall. In my opinion, it would have nothing to do with the fact that he is not a licensed roofer.

AK Lawyer, the VA always tries to find someone to sue for damages.I know from experience. Now AK Lawyer, if I post a sign "keep out, not liable for damages"... would that protect me from some frivolous lawsuit?

Thanks AK
JRGM13

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrgm13

AK Lawyer, the VA always tries to find someone to sue for damages.I know from experience. Now AK Lawyer, if I post a sign "keep out, not liable for damages"... would that protect me from some frivolous lawsuit?

Thanks AK
JRGM13

No that would not protect you. And what are you considering a frivolous lawsuit? If this friend got hurt working on your house, there would be no question of liability. It would not be a frivolous suit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

No that would not protect you. And what are you considering a frivolous lawsuit? If this friend got hurt working on your house, there
would be no question of liability. It would not be a frivolous suit.

I know that someone working on my house in his condition and falling wouldn't be "frivolous" and I just talked for half an hour explaining to him that the VA WILL come after me if he gets hurt on my roof and he remembers me giving him his money (for sleeping on my roof)... the sign question is for someone coming on my yard and doing a slip and fall or getting hurt when they come here uninvited. Would that sign protect me from that?

Thanks,
jrgm13

Nothing will protect you from a lawsuit. What you need is protection from losing a suit. And no that sign still wouldn't protect you is the accident was due to your own negligence.

Knowingly letting an old guy like this climb around is asking for trouble and you have wasted enough money on him so just pay him for his scaffolds or give them back. The VA isn't the problem, but how you conduct your business and with whom could stand some better decisions.

He is a liability waiting to happen.

It seems to me that this sentence in your original post: "We don't have insurance because our house is about 125 years old" is a disaster waiting to happen. You may not think you need fire insurance perhaps because you think the physical structure of your home is worthless (really?), but homeowner's insurance also gves you liability protection. Forget the issue of your friend falling off the roof and whether the VA would sue or not - if a neighbor trips on a crack in your front walk, or slips on the ice in yuor driveway winter, you could be liable and would sorely miss having that protection.

The house is very sound.made of douglas fir... the insurance company told me that they wouldn't insure it because of the age.now they make homes out of particle board and they'd never last 100 years... but that don't matter now how... humanity will be long gone from radiation from old nuke power plants. We're looking at so many extinction level events and as far as my neighbor goes... I'd better not catch him on my yard or I'll poison his last barkin dog like I did the other. The blood suckers can't get anything off my only income, social security anyway.

You are full of poison yourself. Killing your neighbor's dog! You are now off on tangents, and not even listening to good legal advice. Good luck living out your remaining years a bitter old fool. You and I are about the same age. I don't care if I die now, but I sure as heck don't kill people's pets.

Even if they won't insure your home against damage, they will still insure you for liability.

They may not be able to go after your Social Security, but you could lose the house.

We got him to get his scaffolding. He text my wife after driving 20 miles that he started to pass out and went to sleep for a few hours, we didn't see the text until much later and my wife called and he was back home. Two days later, he remembers nothing about his trip. I won't turn him in. we're lucky, but someone sure might not be, LOL!

If someone is on your property and get hurt, because of some issue of neglect, they can sue you... There have been cases, we studied in university, where a person, broke into someone's home, fell down the basement stairs because of no handrail... They sued home owner and won...

A side note: if he is a friend, then be a friend and talk to him about his still driving with narcolepsy. You could save his life, the lives of others, or save him from serious legal trouble.