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
Decision in the absence of a plaintiff or defendant at the specified court time. ...
Method of premium payment under which a temporary premium is charged based on projected loss experience. At the end of the year this premium is adjusted to reflect the actual loss ...
Type of charitable remainder trust (CRT) that pays interest income for life or for a specified term to a non charitable beneficiary. The remainder of the interest is received by a charity. ...
Frequency of death. ...
High severity loss that does not lend itself to accurate prediction and thus should be transferred by the individual or business to an insurance company. ...
Same as term Exclusions: provision in an insurance policy that indicates what is denied coverage. For example, common exclusions are: hazards deemed so catastrophic in nature that they are ...
Life insurance under which an insured receives the face value of a policy if the individual survives the endowment period. If the insured does not survive, a beneficiary receives the face ...
Coverage for property loss liability as the result of negligent acts and/or omissions of the insured that allows a spreading fire to damage others' property. Negligent acts and omissions ...
Person, business, or organization specified as the insured (s) in a property or liability insurance policy. In some instances, the policy provides broader coverage to persons other than ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.