What Happens If You Get Hurt While Working at a Customer’s Home?
Whether you’re a landscaper, electrician, housekeeper, delivery driver, home nurse, or other professional who goes into customers’ homes, you aren’t just at risk at your main place of employment. You’re also exposed to the hazards in your customers’ homes. If you’ve been injured while in a customer’s house, you may be able to pursue compensation with an Inland Empire premises liability attorney.
The team at Moga Law Firm helps injured workers every single day. We know that a workplace injury can leave you on unstable financial ground and make you worry about your job security. Attorney Scot Thomas Moga has fought for California workers for over 30 years, and he brings that commitment to every case he takes. Learn more about your legal options now by calling our premises liability law firm at 909-931-2444.
Injuries That Occur While Working in Someone’s Home
Single-family homes and apartment buildings contain a wide variety of hazards that can put workers in danger. Common accidents include:
- Slip and fall accidents: Wet floors, loose carpeting, broken steps, and uneven walkways can cause falls and serious injuries.
- Ladder accidents: Workers may fall and suffer serious injuries while accessing roofs, gutters, lighting fixtures, trees, and other work areas.
- Dog bites: Unrestrained dogs, especially aggressive or protective ones, can put workers in danger. Beyond bites, dogs can also knock workers to the ground and cause preventable injuries.
- Electrical accidents: Exposed wiring, defective electrical systems, and poorly maintained equipment may lead to painful shocks or burns.
- Falling objects: Poorly secured materials, shelves, and equipment can strike workers. Falling objects can be particularly dangerous because of the risk of traumatic brain injuries.
- Equipment accidents: Defective tools or machinery may lead to catastrophic or fatal accidents.
It’s important to note that an injury happening at someone’s home doesn’t automatically make the owner liable. Your premises liability lawyer can look over your evidence to determine whether the homeowner’s actions constitute negligence. Whether you have a claim may depend on the hazard, the worker’s relationship to the homeowner, and who was responsible for the condition that caused the injury.
Does Workers’ Compensation Cover These Injuries?
California’s workers’ compensation system generally provides benefits to cover employees who are injured in the scope of their work. Qualifying injuries may be compensated even if they happen away from the regular workplace.
A plumber, for example, may be employed by a plumbing company. But since their work takes them into customers’ homes, injuries happening on a client call would likely be compensable.
Benefits available include medical treatment, temporary disability payments (subject to weekly minimums and maximums adjusted each year), supplemental job displacement benefits, and permanent disability benefits when applicable.
The main advantage of workers’ compensation is that you do not have to prove negligence. Even if someone is at fault for your injury, you likely qualify for benefits without having to prove that.
Can You Sue the Homeowner?
There are cases where an injured worker can sue a third party after an injury. While you cannot generally sue your employer or anyone employed by the same company, a client or other third party does not have the same protections.
Unlike workers’ compensation, you do have to prove negligence to receive compensation. Your premises liability attorney attempts to prove that the homeowner had a dangerous condition under their control that led to your foreseeable injury.
As an example, a homeowner may know that their stairs are structurally unsound. However, they do not take steps to fix it or warn a visiting worker of the danger. This may make them liable for injuries that follow.
The advantage of a personal injury claim is that it may allow you to seek more compensation than a workers’ comp claim. You may recover pain and suffering damages, total lost income, property damage, and other losses.
Special Rules for Independent Contractors
There are additional restrictions when injuries arise from work done by independent contractors. The California Supreme Court has established principles that limit a hiring party’s liability for injuries arising from risks that come from contracted work. However, there are limitations to this, so it’s still worth talking to a premises liability lawyer.
Reach Out to Our Premises Liability Law Firm in the Inland Empire Now
If you were injured while at a client’s home, you could be entitled to compensation. Whether you are struggling with a workers’ compensation claim or you want to pursue a personal injury claim, we are here to help. Reach out online or call us at 909-931-2444 to get started.
Scot Thomas Moga, a dedicated attorney in San Bernardino & Riverside Counties who represents clients in the many types of personal injury, workers’ compensation and estate planning cases.
