What can I do if I was working at a customers house using their ladder and the ladder buckled and I fell to the floor and severally sprained my ankle?

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What can I do if I was working at a customers house using their ladder and the ladder buckled and I fell to the floor and severally sprained my ankle?

I have been to the hospital twice still in pain from it can’t work and have not been able to finish the work on the customers house and has been harassing me. The customer knew I was hurt and I explained to her that I would be out for about 6 weeks to allow my ankle to heal.

Asked on December 1, 2014 under Personal Injury, California

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

It would be advisable to inform the homeowner's insurance carrier in writing that you will be filing a personal injury claim.

When you complete your medical treatment and are released by the doctor or are declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary which means having reached a point in your medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain your medical bills, medical reports and documetation of wage loss.  Your personal injury claim filed with the homeowner's insurance carrier should include these items.

Compensation for your medical bills is straight reimbursement.  The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.  Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.

If the case is settled with the homeowner's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.  If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the homeowner's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit against the homeowner based on premises liability.

If the case is NOT settled with the homeowner's insurance carrier, your lawsuit against the homeowner based on premises liability must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.

An alternative to the above would be filing a workers' compensation claim through your employer since you were injured on the job.

Since you were injured using the customer's ladder, it would be advisable to hold the homeowner liable and proceed with your personal injury claim through the homeowne's insurance carrier as discussed above.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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