Tort law, more commonly known as personal injury law, gives an injured person the right to sue for just compensation when there is someone else responsible for their injuries. It is a rather complex law entailing a certain number of ways to deal with cases with which a person sustained an injury.
Often, an injured person has the right to sue another party for negligence or an intentional act that resulted in the injury. Some common examples of personal injury cases are car accidents, cases of dog bites, slip and fall cases, medical malpractice, assault, battery, and other intentional acts.
However, there is also another kind of case that many people encounter although they aren’t aware it can already be considered an example of personal injury.
When visiting another person’s home, often people expect to have a safe and fun-filled time. Nobody expects to get injured while at a party or gathering at someone’s home. Unfortunately, one of the most common places a person can get injured is in a house, especially if the homeowner has a pet and you happen to suffer from an animal attack. That means, it is best for everyone to learn the legal options available should they get injured at someone else’s home.
Personal injuries can be serious, and they often lead to expensive medical bills, not to mention the inability of the injured to work. If anyone got seriously hurt, the best option for them is to file a claim against the insurance of the homeowner. To be able to support oneself after an injury, here are some important things anyone should know about personal injuries and homeowner’s insurance.
Liability Coverage
Usually, an injury that happened at home is under the liability coverage of the insurance company of the homeowner. An injured person can use the liability coverage to pay for the necessary medical expenses, any lost wages, and other damages that may have resulted from the personal injury.
However, knowing how much it pays is essential since the amount of compensation the injured will receive depends on the insurance policy’s coverage limits. If the liability limit of the insurance policy of the individual homeowner involved in a personal injury case is $100,000, then that is the maximum amount the injured party can receive.
In some cases, though, an insurance policy has an umbrella provision to cover extra charges. However, that is not always the case. Still, it is great if the injured party can check if the insurance has an umbrella provision.
If for example, the expenses due to a personal injury exceed the liability coverage of the homeowner, even with an umbrella provision, the injured will have to shoulder them personally. If the injured is unwilling or unable, they can seek compensation by filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Examining Negligence
In most cases, a homeowner’s insurance policy will cover the majority of injuries that people suffer at someone else’s residence. But, in all cases, the injured party will have to prove the negligence of the homeowner for them to receive just compensation.
A great example for this is the injured seeking to prove that the owner violated their responsibility to ensure the safety of their guests by failing to maintain their house, which led directly to the person’s injury.
Note, however, that not all personal injury cases necessitate the injured to prove the homeowner’s fault. For instance, there are states with strict dog bite laws that compel homeowners to provide a dog-bite victim with compensation. Others, like the state of Texas, follow the One Bite Rule, which requires prior aggressive behavior of the dog and prior knowledge of the owner about that behavior before compensation is required.
Also, compensation for a personal injury case is only required when there is negligence on the part of the homeowner. If the injury was the result of an intentional act and not of neglect, then the homeowner’s insurance will not provide compensation, as provided in their liability coverage. Getting compensation for an intentional injury would require the injured to hire a personal injury attorney and file a lawsuit.
Takeaway
There are plenty of cases that may fall under the Tort law. Seeking compensation for personal injuries that resulted in accidents at another person’s home will require an examination of the negligence on the part of the homeowner. If there is negligence, then the homeowner’s insurance will cover the compensation, as provided by their coverage limit.
Author’s Info Michele S. Mirman is the founding partner of Mirman, Markovits and Landau in addition to being an award-winning personal injury lawyer with over 43 years experience. She has won over $1 billion in awards and settlements for her numerous, long time clients. Michele is known as a tough negotiator and an excellent trial lawyer. She has served on judicial rating committees for different New York State organizations, earned Lifetime Achievement to America’s Top 100 Attorneys, is recognized as a high stakes litigator and enjoys an outstanding 10 ranking from Avvo.