What Do I Do If Someone Gets Injured In My Home?
First, stay calm. Freaking out won’t help anyone. Whenever there’s an accident everyone gets hyper and tense; being calm will be a blessing to everyone. Plus; it’s your house. You’re supposed to lead. Calm everyone down, determine the injuries and or damage.
Second: call the police and medical assistance (if needed). While we said for you to determine the injuries and damage – and it’s nice if you can get pictures of it for future reference – you have to call the police to file an accident report and medical assistance to take care of it. If it’s something you can take care of with a first-aid kit, tell the victim the house has a first-aid kit (you better have it; it’s an essential home item) and, if they want, you can perform the first-aid or they can do it themselves if they prefer.
Step number 3 is politely limiting the discussion - especially if it’s something big. Talk only with the police or your insurance agent. Don't admit liability or fault on the scene of the accident. Try to resolve everything and take care of everyone but position yourself as a helpful person, not a guilty one. Calm everyone, say it’s not the time to discuss that, only to make sure everyone is safe and sound.
Step number 4 is getting the facts right. Write down names, addresses, phone numbers, insurance companies of the individuals involved and witnesses. This is important for when the liability insurance policy kicks in.
Lastly, call your insurance agent to report the accident and go over with him or her all the details of exactly what happened and how it happened.
From there on, everything will probably run independently from you. With a few calls from your insurance agency if you’re unlucky. If the victim calls you regarding anything related to the accident, refer them to your insurance agent and say you were advised to do that.
If it’s the other way around and you’re the one who gets injured in someone else’s home: stay calm, call the police and medical assistance - if you can’t do it yourself, ask someone to call it for you. Get all the info you can and contact your lawyer as soon as you can.
Now that you’ve read what to do if someone gets injured in your home: did you realize you don’t know that much home insurance? Read our home insurance guide to learn more!
Popular Insurance Questions
Popular Insurance Glossary Terms
Loss experience of a given insured. ...
Insurance against interruption of supply of goods and services. If firm A depends on firm B for its supply of goods and services, an interruption caused by damage or destruction to B can ...
Price an investor is willing to pay for a financial asset. ...
Coverage on a single shipment of property while in temporary storage or in transit. This policy is most commonly used in moving of household goods, which are covered from the time they are ...
Procedure for calculating the cost of life insurance, taking into account the time value of money (investment return on sums placed in premium dollars had these sums been invested ...
Risk management technique for shifting a corporation's exposure from itself. A risk manager looks at many alternatives to insurance to limit the risks a business firm faces. One transfer ...
Extended reporting period, for an unlimited length of time, during which claims may be made after a claims made basis liability coverage policy has expired. ...
Means used by a direct fire underwriter to protect against accumulation for a fire account, as well as against extremely large fire account liability. For example, heavy liabilities under ...
Liability arising out of the operation of a motel or hotel as it pertains to the physical safety of guests and their property. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.