If you are injured in a slip and fall at a neighbor’s house, will the damages you suffer be covered by the neighbor’s homeowners insurance? Several issues can affect an injured person’s ability to prevail on such a claim.

The first question is whether the property owner has the type of insurance that covers personal injuries on the premises. The vast majority of Connecticut homeowners carry insurance, particularly when they have a mortgage on the home, because the mortgage company requires it. However, that insurance may be sufficient only to protect the mortgagee from loss due to fire or other disasters. And in circumstances where someone owns a property without a mortgage, it is possible that they will not have any insurance at all.

You should request coverage information from the homeowner as soon as you can following your accident. There is no government registry that shows the insurance status of a home, so that information will need to come directly from the property owner. Many times the property owner may not want to provide the information because they may be afraid that the insurance company will increase their premiums or terminate their coverage if there is a claim. It may be necessary to seek help from an attorney to persuade the homeowner to provide the insurance information.

Provided the owner has insurance on the property, you should then determine whether the policy includes medical payments coverage. This type of coverage protects homeowners when guests are injured in their home, whether or not the owner is at fault. It usually affords small amounts of coverage, generally from $1,000 to $5,000. Medical payments coverage may be sufficient to compensate for your minor injuries and may allow you to resolve the issues without going to court.

In order to receive compensation beyond medical payments coverage, you will need to show that the homeowner’s negligence caused the injury. For example, if you are in someone’s home and you fall because your shoes were untied, you cannot hold the homeowner liable or pursue compensation under the homeowner’s policy. There must be some condition in the home or on the property that caused you to slip and fall.

You may have a valid legal claim against the homeowner if you were injured in scenarios such as:

• Tripping on a loose nail sticking up from a floorboard
• Falling due to a broken handrail or broken stairs
• Getting bitten by the owner’s dog
• Slipping because a rug didn’t have a proper grip pad underneath
• Falling because of ice or snow that remained on the driveway or sidewalk long after a storm passed

If you slipped and fell in someone else’s home and believe you may be entitled to compensation, contact Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. Our Hamden and East Haven attorneys can evaluate the situation and advise you of your legal options. Give us a call at 203-745-0942 to schedule a free initial consultation.