Liability is on you

[MnGirl]

Anyone that works on your property is your responsibility, unless they have Workers Compensation. They will all say they have it, but now before you hire check: https.//apps8.fldfs.com/proofofcoverage/Search.aspx If you don't care and hire anyway, I hope nothing happens or you have a large bank account. Just giving you the tools to make wise decisions.

[Indydealmaker]

Anyone that works on your property is your responsibility, unless they have Workers Compensation. They will all say they have it, but now before you hire check: https.//apps8.fldfs.com/proofofcoverage/Search.aspx If you don't care and hire anyway, I hope nothing happens or you have a large bank account. Just giving you the tools to make wise decisions.

Try this link. You must have keystroked yours in. Next time just highlight the address and cut and paste.
https://apps8.fldfs.com/proofofcoverage/search.aspx

Also, it is a good idea to have a large Umbrella Liability Insurance Policy. They are relatively cheap. If I remember correctly Florida does not require the principal of a company to carry Workers Compensation on himself/herself/itself.

[Aandjmassage]

We work on people in there home's and have commercial liability ins.

[cattywampus]

We work on people in there home's and have commercial liability ins.

Workman's Comp and Commercial Liability are NOT the same thing.

This thread addresses Workman's Comp.
Do you have Workman's comp insurance.?

A and J ......and/or.....A & J is not listed in State Database.

[Villages PL]

I get my lawn care from Fernview Farms, Inc. in Sumter County. I tried the search, without knowing the owner's name. but nothing comes up. Does that mean they don't have Workman's Compensation, or do I need the owners name?

[rubicon]

Anyone that works on your property is your responsibility, unless they have Workers Compensation. They will all say they have it, but now before you hire check: https.//apps8.fldfs.com/proofofcoverage/Search.aspx If you don't care and hire anyway, I hope nothing happens or you have a large bank account. Just giving you the tools to make wise decisions.

Workers compensation replaced Liability issues at the turn of the 1900's to protect employers from occupational injuries.

Liability Insurance protects people in the event their actions create an accident that results in injury or property damage.

A contractor buys liability insurance to protect him/her/company fro their mistakes

[Sanibel7]

Folks. Always before anyone works on your property ask for Proof of all insurances.. If they don't provide Don't Hire them.. Hey most folk are new here. and when we were home we knew who to hire.. Please take all due diligence and take caution before hiring someone. Call Seniors against crime.. Ask your neighbors.. And most of all be Very Very wary of anyone.

[tomwed]

So I have someone that cuts my lawn. What do I need to be concerned about? What documents do I need to see that protects me? I may start cutting my own lawn.

I'm not trying to be a wise guy, I'm trying to learn.

[bimmertl]

As usual plenty of expert advise. As pointed out, workers comp protects the employer, not the homeowner. So workers comp will pay for injuries to covered employees during the course of their employment. However, if the injuries sustained by the employee were your fault, guess what, the workers comp carrier pays and then comes after you. So if you drive into your driveway and hit the lawn care guy, break his leg and the WC carrier pays $50K, you think they just write that off? No, they put a WC lien on the settlement and pursue their payment from you or your insurance company.

And no, anyone that works on your property is not "your responsibility" whatever that means. So if the lawn care guy is drunk and drives his mower into a fellow employee, on your lot, it's your responsibility, really?

Oh yes, be sure to ask for proof of insurance. No doubt when he says he has XYZ insurance you'll feel better. What are you going to do, read the policy and it's exclusions? Does it name covered employees, who are the covered employees, what are the policy limits, is it really in force etc. etc..

Make sure your HO policy and auto policies are in force, get an umbrella policy and quit worrying.

[redwitch]

Bimmert, well said. Thank you for a common sense reply.

[mtdjed]

Is any of the above info really from a legal expert or is it opinion? If the advice is opinion it should be noted since this is a legal discussion . My thoughts are opinion. I think as a homeowner you need liability insurance to cover risks to others while on your property. When you hire a contractor who has employees, the contractor would seem to need Workman's Comp. You can't get workman's comp for the various contractors you hire. But even if the contractor has Workman's Comp coverage for his employees, you still need liability insurance to cover your risk. As I have heard many times, you can be sued by anyone for anything. And sympathetic juries can assign fault to you. Thus liability insurance.

[JoMar]

Another reason why buying low bid is not always prudent.

[Stdole]

I know there are several landscape companies saying they have full coverage... meaning they have 1 million or so in Umbrella coverage and thats it!!

As a home owner in The Villages lets get to work and clean up some of these fly by night outfits.... "You do not have to worry about most of the workers... it their LAWYERS that you must be afraid of... they in fact will skin you to the bone" just ask them sometime for you own information!
I have several times and they will say " FOR SURE "! thats our job!

Put them out of business and do not hire even if you save a few dollars you will lose big time if the wrong thing happens... fall off the roof... cut their foot off.. lose and eye... run a pick into their foot... lose their hearing or eyesight.. on and on..

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'd also like to know if this information is being posted by an expert or someone that has had an experience with this. We all have homeowners insurance which includes liability insurance. What else would we need? What exactly is an umbrella policy? And are we really responsible for anyone working on our property?

I had an electrician who works for a big corporation come in a few days ago to repair my outside light an outlet. Is the OP saying that if this guy electrocuted himself while performing this task that I would be responsible for paying his workman's comp? I find that very hard to believe.

[rubicon]

I'd also like to know if this information is being posted by an expert or someone that has had an experience with this. We all have homeowners insurance which includes liability insurance. What else would we need? What exactly is an umbrella policy? And are we really responsible for anyone working on our property?

I had an electrician who works for a big corporation come in a few days ago to repair my outside light an outlet. Is the OP saying that if this guy electrocuted himself while performing this task that I would be responsible for paying his workman's comp? I find that very hard to believe.

Doc: I spent my entire career in insurance earned AIC CPCU CLU designations and more training classes seminars etc then I even can remember, over saw thousands of lawsuits, etc and never would I give advice to anyone except to say consult with your agent, attorney etc on what you need to protect you interests.

[Sandtrap328]

I'd also like to know if this information is being posted by an expert or someone that has had an experience with this. We all have homeowners insurance which includes liability insurance. What else would we need? What exactly is an umbrella policy? And are we really responsible for anyone working on our property?

I had an electrician who works for a big corporation come in a few days ago to repair my outside light an outlet. Is the OP saying that if this guy electrocuted himself while performing this task that I would be responsible for paying his workman's comp? I find that very hard to believe.

Contact Seniors vs Crime on this issue. Also, contact your own homeowners insurance company.

I had a "handyman" offer to clean my skylights recently. I asked if he had personal insurance. He did not. I called my insurance company and they said if he had an accident on my property that I would be liable. I did not hire the man.

[MnGirl]

This is a for instance: Your lawn guy is working for someone else and you ask him to remove a seedpod from a palm, it hits him in the face, if he can't work and there is no compensation from his employer, he's looking to you. If a landscaping crew works on your property and they saw block for a short retaining wall, if they cut off a finger, again, if there is no workers compensation, it will fall on the employer AND the homeowner. You must not assume all that everyone runs a business like a business.

[redwitch]

This is a for instance: Your lawn guy is working for someone else and you ask him to remove a seedpod from a palm, it hits him in the face, if he can't work and there is no compensation from his employer, he's looking to you. If a landscaping crew works on your property and they saw block for a short retaining wall, if they cut off a finger, again, if there is no workers compensation, it will fall on the employer AND the homeowner. You must not assume all that everyone runs a business like a business.

In the first instance you described, I'd imagine a decent (not even good) could get a nice amount from the homeowner, as well as worker's comp. unless the employer authorized the job, the guy was working a second job on his boss's dime. In the second, it seems as if you'd have to prove some sort of liability or negligence towards the homeowner.

Where are you getting your info re homeowner liability? Are you an expert in this field?

Unless you hire a large company, the odds are there is little workers comp insurance. Most of the workers are paid by the hour under the table. The same is true for a lot of the subcontractors used by TV -- the employees are hired as self-employed and have no coverage. Ain't pretty, but it is the way it works here.

[Villages PL]

As a homeowner, you can be sued for anything. But will the law suit against you be successful? That's the all important question.

I was always taught that in order for a lawsuit to be successful, the homeowner would have to be negligent in some way.

[Sandtrap328]

Best advice - contact your homeowner insurance company and ask them directly instead of just speculating.