Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 How does this work? My friend, a plumber was badly electrocuted last summer while doing a job. He had over 6k in medical bills. My friends are out lost wages (he could not work for several weeks) and he is still not fully right. He still has the burn marks on his face. And really I believe he has some permanent damage. The homeowners insurance says they have $1000 worth of insurance. So how does that work? Will insurance pay more if they are sued? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said: Has his insurance filed a claim against theirs? It needs to go through his medical insurance or he needs to sue for damages, if he does not have insurance that can take up the process for him. His medical insurance did pay and they (medical insurance) are going after the homeowner. But my friends are still out lost wages and as you say damages. They had an appointment with an attorney that they had to reschedule because the wife part of this couple was in the hospital for 17 days. Edited February 10, 2020 by Scarlett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) On 2/10/2020 at 9:16 AM, Seasider too said: As a licensed (I assume?) tradesman, wouldn’t he have some sort of Insurance on himself - beyond medical/hospitalization - something in the event of disability? I wouldn’t be sure the client’s homeowners insurance would cover it unless it were determined clearly that there was no error on the part of the plumber. I am sorry about your friend. Insurance business takes time to sort out as different companies file complaints against one another. Sadly it can leave an injured party with additional stress over finances. He is licensed and has liability insurance. No possible way this was his fault. For one thing he is a plumber not an electrician.....he was under a house connecting a dryer vent. When his son handed him the vent from above he was instantly electrocuted. Son above was not electrocuted because he was standing on a wooden floor. He started screaming but son had no idea what was wrong. The only reason my friend is not dead is because the dryer vent he grabbed hold of was big enough in diameter his thrashing around dislodged it from his grip. Edited to add—I had the hand off of the vent backwards. Friend under the house had hold of the vent and handed it to his son up above. As soon as the son connected it to the dryer my friend was electrocuted. Edited February 12, 2020 by Scarlett 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Wow. I agree that the insurance companies need to work this out. It would depend partly on who followed / didn't follow safety procedures. I doubt it is the fault of the homeowner - maybe the fault of the person who put in the electric wires or however that worked. Or maybe the plumber should have turned off the electricity before connecting anything. Would hate to see the homeowners lose their house over something tradesmen did. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, SKL said: Wow. I agree that the insurance companies need to work this out. It would depend partly on who followed / didn't follow safety procedures. I doubt it is the fault of the homeowner - maybe the fault of the person who put in the electric wires or however that worked. Or maybe the plumber should have turned off the electricity before connecting anything. Would hate to see the homeowners lose their house over something tradesmen did. This is what I was thinking, too. Whenever we have plumbers installing anything here, they always turn off the power to that part of the house first. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 7 minutes ago, SKL said: Wow. I agree that the insurance companies need to work this out. It would depend partly on who followed / didn't follow safety procedures. I doubt it is the fault of the homeowner - maybe the fault of the person who put in the electric wires or however that worked. Or maybe the plumber should have turned off the electricity before connecting anything. Would hate to see the homeowners lose their house over something tradesmen did. Electricity was not involved in putting a dryer vent through the floor. No doubt the dryer was faulty, ungrounded or some such....probably had been since it was installed but went undetected by the homeowner because it sat on a wooden floor. It is an older home....very doubtful there is any other tradesman to blame. And my friends certainly aren’t going to take the homeowners home from them over this. I was really wondering if homeowners insurance can limit payout to $1000......that is actually fairly pointless insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 8 minutes ago, Selkie said: This is what I was thinking, too. Whenever we have plumbers installing anything here, they always turn off the power to that part of the house first. See my post above. No dryer vent should cause electrocution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 10 minutes ago, Selkie said: This is what I was thinking, too. Whenever we have plumbers installing anything here, they always turn off the power to that part of the house first. Like what? They put in a kitchen faucet and turn off the power to the kitchen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) Sounds like he may have gotten the bare minimum in insurance but also the home owners are offering the amount as they found him at least 50 percent at fault. For example- the dryer should have been unplugged along with power off. Edited February 10, 2020 by itsheresomewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) It really is standard for many plumbers to shut down power in the area they are working. I live in an old home (1915 vintage) and they always do at our house. So an insurance company might not see it one way. I'm sorry for this guy's situation and I hope he gets adequate resolution. Edited February 10, 2020 by FuzzyCatz 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Scarlett said: Electricity was not involved in putting a dryer vent through the floor. No doubt the dryer was faulty, ungrounded or some such....probably had been since it was installed but went undetected by the homeowner because it sat on a wooden floor. It is an older home....very doubtful there is any other tradesman to blame. And my friends certainly aren’t going to take the homeowners home from them over this. I was really wondering if homeowners insurance can limit payout to $1000......that is actually fairly pointless insurance. Well, insurances do have coverage limits - the amount they will cover. $1,000 doesn’t seem right though. Generally it’s hundreds of thousands, so that is odd. As to your friends not wanting to go after assets, it will not be up to them. Once they’ve made a claim on their own insurance, their insurance will investigate. If there is another liable party, the insurance will seek to recoup their loss. They will not, to my knowledge, seek lost wages. That would be a civil lawsuit. That said, even if the other house is liable and if the civil suit is won, they’d still need to get the money. Time consuming and expensive. In the meantime is he eligible for disability? This is a very hard thing to deal with. Since acquiring a disability, DH and I realize that death is easier in some ways to cope with financially for a single income family than long term disability. That sounds cold but I just mean it from a purely financial perspective. My husband carries life insurance, but then also additional short and long term disability. I would assume this is available to self employed individuals, but may not be financially feasible. 😞 Edited February 10, 2020 by BlsdMama 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said: Sounds like he may have gotten the bare minimum in insurance but also the home owners are offering the amount as they found him at least 50 percent at fault. For example- the dryer should have been unplugged along with power off. I don’t know what this means. He has got nothing so far. Homeowners Insurance will pay him the $1000 gladly. No one has indicated at all that it was his fault. I just was wondering if an insurance company will pay more if sued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 10 minutes ago, Scarlett said: Like what? They put in a kitchen faucet and turn off the power to the kitchen? Yes. We just had our kitchen remodeled and when plumbing work was being done, the power was off. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: I don’t know what this means. He has got nothing so far. Homeowners Insurance will pay him the $1000 gladly. No one has indicated at all that it was his fault. I just was wondering if an insurance company will pay more if sued. He own insurance I suspect he got the minimum. As for suing, with what they have offered, they have probably found him 50 percent or more at fault with the power being on ie the dryer was still plugged in. It would cost him more to sue than he would get as even on here we are seeing ways they would show how much he was at fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 They might pay more if sued, or they might say he is at fault because standard practice would be to at least unplug the dryer. In Oklahoma unfortunately it's probably going to be his fault. The only way to find out is to consult his own attorney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, BlsdMama said: Well, insurances do have coverage limits - the amount they will cover. $1,000 doesn’t seem right though. Generally it’s hundreds of thousands, so that is odd. As to your friends not wanting to go after assists, it will not be up to them. Once they’ve made a claim on their own insurance, their insurance will investigate. If there is another liable party, the insurance will seek to recoup their loss. They will not, to my knowledge, seek lost wages. That would be a civil lawsuit. That said, even if the other house is liable and if the civil suit is won, they’d still need to get the money. Time consuming and expensive. In the meantime is he eligible for disability? This is a very hard thing to deal with. Since acquiring a disability, DH and I realize that death is easier in some ways to cope with financially for a single income family than long term disability. That sounds cold but I just mean it from a purely financial perspective. My husband carries life insurance, but then also additional short and long term disability. I would assume this is available to self employed individuals, but may not be financially feasible. 😞 Oh they know that their medical insurance will go after the homeowner. I just meant my friends won’t be suing homeowner and causing them to lose their home. I totally agree that financially death is better than disability.....it does sound cold but it is true. Thankfully he has recovered enough to continue working....but yes, $1000 seems odd to me too as a limit to liability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said: He own insurance I suspect he got the minimum. As for suing, with what they have offered, they have probably found him 50 percent or more at fault with the power being on ie the dryer was still plugged in. It would cost him more to sue than he would get as even on here we are seeing ways they would show how much he was at fault. I don’t know where you are getting that he has been found 50% at fault. And what do you mean his own insurance he got the minimum. .? Edited February 10, 2020 by Scarlett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, Katy said: They might pay more if sued, or they might say he is at fault because standard practice would be to at least unplug the dryer. In Oklahoma unfortunately it's probably going to be his fault. The only way to find out is to consult his own attorney. It is not standard practice to unplug a dryer to reconnect a vent. Some might do that in an abundance of caution. Lol...he probably will now. But no, no one is saying it is his fault. The homeowners appliance was faulty. Thus not the plumbers fault. He is going to see attorney. I thought someone might have some experience with it. I guess not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: I don’t know where you are getting that he has been found 50% at fault. And what do you mean jos own insurance he got the minimum? Based on what they are offering, with their own investigation they have more than likely found him 50 percent at fault. Think of it as a good will offering. With his own insurance, many make the mistake of getting the bare minimum. Otherwise, he could have had options on his policy to have more coverage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just now, Scarlett said: It is not standard practice to unplug a dryer to reconnect a vent. Some might do that in an abundance of caution. Lol...he probably will now. But no, no one is saying it is his fault. The homeowners appliance was faulty. Thus not the plumbers fault. He is going to see attorney. I thought someone might have some experience with it. I guess not. It is to unplug the dryer to work in the area. Especially as they would have to move the dryer to connect the vent. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said: Based on what they are offering, with their own investigation they have more than likely found him 50 percent at fault. Think of it as a good will offering. With his own insurance, many make the mistake of getting the bare minimum. Otherwise, he could have had options on his policy to have more coverage. Oh I see you mean he has the bare min of coverage on his insurance. Well, I don’t know that. But at this point he would not file on his own insurance because it isn’t his fault. And again, the offer of $1000 was not because they investigated and found him at fault. It is supposedly because that is the limit of the homeowners coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said: It is to unplug the dryer to work in the area. Especially as they would have to move the dryer to connect the vent. I don’t know that they had to move the dryer. There was a hole through the floor that the vent went through... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 He may think it isn’t his fault but honestly, he was negligent not at least unplugging the dryer and power to the area. That will be factored in. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: I don’t know that they had to move the dryer. There was a hole through the floor that the vent went through... To connect to the vent to the dryer, it would have had to been moved. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 He was not doing electric work to the dryer. Seriously people, i think you are missing the point. The dryer was not grounded. If it had. It been on a wooden floor it would have shocked the homeowner, making it a faulty appliance. good grief...it is like saying you unplug the dryer before cleaning out the lint filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said: He may think it isn’t his fault but honestly, he was negligent not at least unplugging the dryer and power to the area. That will be factored in. Well, so far it hasn’t been factored in since the dryer was faulty. It is why BCBS is going after the homeowner.....because the dryer was faulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, Scarlett said: He was not doing electric work to the dryer. Seriously people, i think you are missing the point. The dryer was not grounded. If it had. It been on a wooden floor it would have shocked the homeowner, making it a faulty appliance. good grief...it is like saying you unplug the dryer before cleaning out the lint filter. The point is that safety procedures require turning off the power just in case. Because you don't know if there is a risk or not. If this was under the floor, then there could easily have been animals eating the insulation on the wires over the years. (That happened at my house.) The plumber must have been taught about electrical hazards in working on electrical appliances. Which brings up another question - why was a plumber working on a dryer in the first place? Is this something plumbers are trained to do? If not, then he takes a risk when he does it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, parent said: It doesn't even matter if it was being moved. If he was making a connection, it should not have had power. Are you a plumber? He has been a plumber for his entire life. Trained by his father as a teen. Unplugging a dryer to attach a dryer vent should never be necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Scarlett said: Are you a plumber? He has been a plumber for his entire life. Trained by his father as a teen. Unplugging a dryer to attach a dryer vent should never be necessary. As a person in the trades, he should have unplugged it. No matter what. Safety first. And the reason we turn off the power for doing things you don’t think we need to as we never know what half baked “repairs/installs” we could encounter. Edited February 10, 2020 by itsheresomewhere 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 If he has disability insurance I would think that would cover the lost income if he can prove it. That’s how it is supposed to work. Regarding the homeowners insurance, it pays at most the policy limit, and anything awarded beyond that falls onto the homeowner’s assets. That’s why it is so important to have ample coverage as a homeowner—because if you have assets, the insurance protects you from needing to liquidate them in situations like this or a car accident. Personally we have a large umbrella policy that ‘floats’ on top of our homeowners and car insurance to give us that extra liability coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just now, SKL said: The point is that safety procedures require turning off the power just in case. Because you don't know if there is a risk or not. If this was under the floor, then there could easily have been animals eating the insulation on the wires over the years. (That happened at my house.) The plumber must have been taught about electrical hazards in working on electrical appliances. Which brings up another question - why was a plumber working on a dryer in the first place? Is this something plumbers are trained to do? If not, then he takes a risk when he does it. Ok my word people. I am going to have to be done with this thread. Connecting a dryer vent is not ‘working on a dryer’. It is not electrical work. It is not working around water and electricity. It was a faulty appliance which could have shocked him just touching it had it not been on a wooden floor. There were no wires under the house... no animals chewed on anything. and no safety procedures do not require unplugging a dryer to attach a vent. Have y’all never reconnected your dryer vent if it popped off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just now, Scarlett said: Ok my word people. I am going to have to be done with this thread. Connecting a dryer vent is not ‘working on a dryer’. It is not electrical work. It is not working around water and electricity. It was a faulty appliance which could have shocked him just touching it had it not been on a wooden floor. There were no wires under the house... no animals chewed on anything. and no safety procedures do not require unplugging a dryer to attach a vent. Have y’all never reconnected your dryer vent if it popped off? I have and I do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Carol in Cal. said: If he has disability insurance I would think that would cover the lost income if he can prove it. That’s how it is supposed to work. Regarding the homeowners insurance, it pays at most the policy limit, and anything awarded beyond that falls onto the homeowner’s assets. That’s why it is so important to have ample coverage as a homeowner—because if you have assets, the insurance protects you from needing to liquidate them in situations like this or a car accident. Personally we have a large umbrella policy that ‘floats’ on top of our homeowners and car insurance to give us that extra liability coverage. I agree with having plenty of insurance....which is what this was about.,..is it even possible a homeowner only has $1000 worth of liability. The more I think about it the more I think not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, itsheresomewhere said: I have and I do. Ok, well you get the safety award. I have never seen anyone do that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: Ok my word people. I am going to have to be done with this thread. Connecting a dryer vent is not ‘working on a dryer’. It is not electrical work. It is not working around water and electricity. It was a faulty appliance which could have shocked him just touching it had it not been on a wooden floor. There were no wires under the house... no animals chewed on anything. and no safety procedures do not require unplugging a dryer to attach a vent. Have y’all never reconnected your dryer vent if it popped off? Well again, this is why the insurance companies will have to figure it out. They will get experts to weigh in on who was at fault. If they find out the dryer itself was dangerously faulty, then hopefully they can go after the manufacturer of the dryer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 7 minutes ago, happysmileylady said: I am presuming that you are getting your information from your friend. He may or may not be sharing everything with you. But, if the limit of the coverage is $1k, then I really do think that to get any more money, he's going to have to sue the party he believes is directly liable, which it sounds like in this case, he believes that would be the homeowner. Unless he thinks that the entire problem is the actual appliance itself, like it's a manufacturing defect. Then it would be Whirlpool or Kenmore or whoever. That would involve a much bigger and longer and more expensive lawsuit. Was wondering about that.....I doubt it would be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just now, Scarlett said: Ok, well you get the safety award. I have never seen anyone do that. I turn off the lights before I will screw in a lightbulb. Call me crazy. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Scarlett said: Are you a plumber? He has been a plumber for his entire life. Trained by his father as a teen. Unplugging a dryer to attach a dryer vent should never be necessary. It is literally recommended in every owners manual you will get for a larger appliance. I'm sorry for your friend. But that is not how insurance companies may see it. Just being realistic. A lawyer will be able to determine if he has a case so talking to one is a good idea. Maybe his training failed him. My dryer vent has never popped off in my adult life and I'm pushing 50. I have noticed contractors that regularly work on older homes "get" older houses. They take more precautions. Again, power always goes down here for the area a plumber is working on in our 1915 home. Edited February 10, 2020 by FuzzyCatz 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) It all depends on how much coverage for liability the homeowners carry on their policy. If they carry a maximum of $1000 per incident, then that is the maximum he will get from them. If the maximum is higher, then his medical insurance company or professional liability insurance company can press them for more, up to the maximum amount. Often times in instances like this, insurance companies will offer the minimum they think they can get away with. It sounds like the insurance companies involved are pressing them for more. Once any/all other insurance policies are maxed out, then his medical insurance will kick in, but he will be responsible for any co-pays or deductibles. He can only recover those if he files a civil suit against the homeowner. Insurance companies generally don't compensate for lost work days, so he is out his earnings unless he files a civil suit against the homeowner. That would be a suit he would have to file personally, as his insurance company won't do that. I'm sure there are professional safety standards for the work he did. If he met those standards, then he is not liable. If he didn't meet the standards, then an insurance company will do everything they can to pay as little as possible or to not pay at all. It's helpful to remember that insurance policies are contracts between the insurance company and the policy holder. The insurance company has no obligation to the claimant beyond the limits of the policy. Now, if the house has been inspected for the purpose of a real estate transaction recently, the inspector could be liable and his/her liability insurance might kick in. There is probably a statue of limitations on that, so an older inspection might not carry any weight. I'm glad he has an attorney - he will likely need one to untangle all of this. I'm so sorry this happened to him. How very scary and traumatic. Edited February 10, 2020 by TechWife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just now, parent said: I used to direct plumbers, but not one myself. Have had plenty of safety awareness training on my job. Trained by father is not a credential. Is he licensed/certified for your state? Shutting off power to an appliance before working on it is always necessary. Your buddy needs to take a safety course. It is Common Sense 101. Especially, should be more careful at other people's homes which could have questionable wiring. Holy crap, did I say being trained by ones father was a credential? He is licensed and he has been for 40 years and no he doesn’t need a safety course. I don’t know why you feel the need to go in this direction and disparage a person you don’t even know when I was asking about experience with homeowners liability limits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, happysmileylady said: Scarlett, very gently, I actually googled and the couple three pages I clicked all said to unplug it first. And whenever DH has worked on our appliances, he always unplugs it first, and plugs it in last. But it doesn't really matter because the information you have might not be exactly what happened, you are getting your information from your friend, and he might be confused, or be misunderstanding or may simply not be explaining it correctly to you. If the problem is with the manufacturer directly (ie the dryer itself is faulty) then your friend likely has to go after the manufacturer. If the problem is with how the dryer was installed originally, then your friend likely has to go after the homeowner. I think the only reason he would sue the homeowners insurance is if he believes they are incorrect in telling him the liability limit is $1k. And insurance companies are pretty slimy sometimes, so it could very well be that they are handing him a line of crap if they are telling him the limit is $1k. It could be that they are trying to claim the situation is not what it actually is, insurance companies do that all the time to avoid paying things out. when your husband ‘works’ on appliances? Are you specifically talking about connecting a dryer vent? Because my husband works on everything and he of course would definitely unplug to work on an appliance. I do not consider connecting a dryer vent to be working on it. He isn’t confused. His son was there and confirms exactly what happened. But you are right that an attorney will be able to sort out if the actual limit is only $1000 or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Scarlett said: He is licensed and has liability insurance. No possible way this was his fault. For one thing he is a plumber not an electrician.....he was under a house connecting a dryer vent. When his son handed him the vent from above he was instantly electrocuted. Son above was not electrocuted because he was standing on a wooden floor. He started screaming but son had no idea what was wrong. The only reason my friend is not dead is because the dryer vent he grabbed hold of was big enough in diameter his thrashing around dislodged it from his grip. 3 minutes ago, parent said: Well, it is all you said in regards to his training. So, I picture him as one of those people who does odd jobs and may not be licensed... But at any rate, I am glad he was not electrocuted and hope he gets this sorted. It is not all I said in regards to his training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 hour ago, parent said: Electrocuted means killed by shock. He had an electric shock and electrical burns. Sounds horrible and he is very lucky to not have been electrocuted. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electrocuted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 21 minutes ago, Scarlett said: Well, so far it hasn’t been factored in since the dryer was faulty. It is why BCBS is going after the homeowner.....because the dryer was faulty. Oh, I just realized this. I thought it was the house wiring that was faulty, not the dryer itself. Ignore my comments about the home inspector. The manufacturer of the dryer may bear some responsibility though. Unfortunately for him, that's where all of the "unplug the appliance" instructions in owner's manuals come into play - they are thought to be common sense, I think, so these are CYA statements for the manufacturers. There are all kinds of caveats to insurance policies, so who knows? Going to an attorney is certainly the right move. I am confused by some wording people are using here. There is a difference between "unplug the dryer" and "cut the power." The one is localized to the appliance, the other involves turning power off at the breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just curious, why was he connecting a dryer vent under the floor? Was he replacing an old one, or moving things around, or installing a new one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 hour ago, parent said: Electrocuted means killed by shock. He had an electric shock and electrical burns. Sounds horrible and he is very lucky to not have been electrocuted. Electrocute means to injure or kill by electric shock. The man was electrocuted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 Just now, SKL said: Just curious, why was he connecting a dryer vent under the floor? Was he replacing an old one, or moving things around, or installing a new one? I am not sure. I think it had just come loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 7 minutes ago, parent said: Well, it is all you said in regards to his training. So, I picture him as one of those people who does odd jobs and may not be licensed... But at any rate, I am glad he was not electrocuted and hope he gets this sorted. She didn't say anything about his training that I can see. What are you talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: I am not sure. I think it had just come loose. His son handed it to him, so it must have been more than just moving something back into the previous location. Anyway, I do hope he gets it resolved so that his family doesn't have too much of a loss. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 1 minute ago, parent said: https://www.google.com/search?q=electrocution+definition+osha&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo3rz6uMfnAhXCop4KHe4SDRMQ1QIwHHoECA4QDA&biw=360&bih=668&dpr=3 Yes, exposure to a lethal amount. Death is actually not required for someone to be considered electrocuted. From the document you linked - underlining mine: A. Definition Electrocution results when a person is exposed to a lethal amount of electrical energy. An electrical hazard can be defined as a serious workplace hazard that exposes workers to the following: Burns Electrocution Shock ArcFlash/Arc Blast Fire Explosions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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