When you get hurt at someone else's house

[allison443]

It's usually not the parents that sue, but their insurance company. I have a friend who accidently blinded another child with a bb gun, and the parents of the child assured them that they understood it was an accident, and would not sue. However, their insurance company sued my friend's insurance company for the money.

The child's insurance company sued for reimbursement of medical/hospital expenses. The child/his parents may also have had a claim for pain and suffering, loss of sight, etc. That is separate and if they choose not to pursue that, it is their choice. Believe me, from an economic point of view, the homeowner's insurance company would rather pay the medical costs than pay the value of loss of sight in a young child. That is a serious situation.

Also saying "we won't sue, because it was an accident" is fine. However "an accident" just means you didn't intend for something to happen. It could still have been caused because you were negligent. Not saying that was the case in your friend's situation.

In fact that is the whole point of having liability insurance-to cover damages that you cause by your negligence. They normally don't cover intentional acts such as an assault, etc.

 

[allison443]

Upon recommendation of a dear friend, who happens to be a prominent insurance lawyer, we carry a $2 million liability umbrella policy to cover such accidents in our home or car. While I would never ask somebody else to cover my kid's stupidity, there are plenty of insurance companies representing people that would. The policy is less than $200 a year and gives us peace of mind that we could handle anything that happens in our house or property.

I totally agree with you about the umbrella policy. We often drove a minivan full of girl scouts, teammates, friends etc. and if there was ever an accident I would want there to be enough funds to protect us in a lawsuit as well as to compensate anyone that was injured. Even a second of distraction/inattention, or a simple mistake/misjudgment, can result in an accident.

It is an umbrella policy so it applies over and above our auto insurance policies as well as our homeowners. And I think the cost is only a few hundred a year. Well worth it for peace of mind.

 

[golfgal]

The patient will always know as they will see the bills and the balance they owe. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that if your balance owed is way less than what the hospital billed minus what your insurance covered, that the other homeowners insurance kicked in.

Upon recommendation of a dear friend, who happens to be a prominent insurance lawyer, we carry a $2 million liability umbrella policy to cover such accidents in our home or car. While I would never ask somebody else to cover my kid's stupidity, there are plenty of insurance companies representing people that would. The policy is less than $200 a year and gives us peace of mind that we could handle anything that happens in our house or property.

The health insurance would cover the bills and then after the fact, go after the homeowners for reimbursement of those bills. It would not change one penny on any bills they receive. It happens all the time, it's just how the companies work. It also takes time and effort to do this so if it isn't financially reasonable to subrogate, they won't.

We also have a 2,000,000 umbrella.

Here is an example-two boys were playing golf and one kid swings his club hitting another kid in the eye. The boy's medical bills come to just shy of $1,000,000. The family of the boy that hurt the other boy told them to file a claim against their homeowners insurance--why, because that family had a 1,000,000 max on their health insurance and this boy would not be eligible for more care in the future. If my kids did something like that, I would be at the door with my insurance information before they even knew what had happened.

 

[golfgal]

I totally agree with you about the umbrella policy. We often drove a minivan full of girl scouts, teammates, friends etc. and if there was ever an accident I would want there to be enough funds to protect us in a lawsuit as well as to compensate anyone that was injured. Even a second of distraction/inattention, or a simple mistake/misjudgment, can result in an accident.

It is an umbrella policy so it applies over and above our auto insurance policies as well as our homeowners. And I think the cost is only a few hundred a year. Well worth it for peace of mind.

There was a girl in a neighboring town that had 6 of her friends in the family minivan and rolled it. Just the first DAY for all the injuries was over $100,000 in medical bills. This family had state minimums and that didn't last for 5 minutes in the ER. They have since had to file bankruptcy, their wages will be garnished for life paying off their debts. One of the girls was in the hospital for over 6 months. It's SO worth the $20/month .