Worker's Comp Claim By A Caretaker-You Need WC Insurance!

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alanryder@aol.com - 15 Apr 2006 01:31 GMT

I just had one by a live-in caretaker I hired to look after my father.
I had thought you needed a business to have to have WC insurance. For
those who have a live-in caretaker be advised that if your caretaker is
injured in your house you can be responsible for huge penalties of
about $9,000 for each year you don't have this insurance, and have to
pay all their health care and lost wages and future disability for the
rest of their life if they win. Average claim is between $25,000 to
$100,000. Thankfully my homeowners will take care of this I think. It's
not quite established in my case if this was an actual employee
situation. I'm posting this as a warning to check with your home owners
insurance carrier as to what is covered, as you might need this
insurance, and to see if anyone else has had this happen to them, and
can share their experiences.

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Evelyn Ruut - 15 Apr 2006 02:28 GMT

>I just had one by a live-in caretaker I hired to look after my father.
> I had thought you needed a business to have to have WC insurance. For
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> insurance, and to see if anyone else has had this happen to them, and
> can share their experiences.

An important point! And something one ought to consider. If I recall
correctily, if the caregiver is someone who works for others as well as you,
as a self employed person, they should have the insurance themselves, and
you could ask for a certificate of insurance from them to prove they have
it. If they work for an agency, the agency might have the insurance
coverage for them. Otherwise you'd need to get workers comp insurance if
your homeowners doesn't cover it. I'd think that most homeowners policies
might cover it though.

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Evelyn
(to reply to me personally, remove 'sox')

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carolinasongbird@gmail.com - 15 Apr 2006 05:00 GMT

Check with your local employment office -- I think the rules differ
from state to state. In our state, you don't have to have it if you
have fewer than four employees. Of course, if one gets hurt, you can
still get sued.

So check your homeowners policy to see if it would cover anything and
consider an umbrella liability policy. The umbrella is an additional
amount of coverage over and above what you have on your house and car.
A $1 million policy is less than $200 a year in my state. I consider it
peace of mind, knowing some unscrupulous folks would look at us and say
"Oh they own a business, they must be irch, let's sue!!!"

Little do they know .... <G>

Add to the list of people you need in your Personal Village (curently
reading book by this title and enjoying it): good elder law attorney,
helpful accountant, savvy insurance agent...

Songbird

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alanryder@aol.com - 15 Apr 2006 05:35 GMT

Thanks Carolina. I have $1,000,000 in liability coverage on my
homeowners policy, but an insurance company at least in NY just has to
cover WC claims if a worker works 40 hours of less, which wasn't the
case with us. They put it through their legal and say that the claim
isn't valid so we will see. Anyway, I have it now, but to other people
who have hired a caretaker for your loved one with Alzheimers, please
check your home owners policy, and check with your local WC board to
see if you need to have it. Better safe than sorry ;-(.

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Tumbleweed - 15 Apr 2006 22:11 GMT

> Thanks Carolina. I have $1,000,000 in liability coverage on my
> homeowners policy, but an insurance company at least in NY just has to
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> check your home owners policy, and check with your local WC board to
> see if you need to have it. Better safe than sorry ;-(.

just out of interest what is the claim for?

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Tumbleweed

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tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

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Dennis P. Harris - 15 Apr 2006 22:39 GMT

> It's
> not quite established in my case if this was an actual employee
> situation.

You should *always* have a contract for nursing care, if only to
establish that the nursing person is and independent contractor
and *not* an employee.

That, and the screening that should be done, are the usual
reasons why folks hire caregivers through home care companies,
hospice, etc.

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Jo Ann Malina - 18 Apr 2006 02:44 GMT

Dennis P. Harris <NO_SPAM_TO_dpharris@gci.net> is alleged to have said:

>> It's
>> not quite established in my case if this was an actual employee
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> reasons why folks hire caregivers through home care companies,
> hospice, etc.

Right. You could be liable for past social security taxes that you
should have withheld and forwarded to the government, if the person
was an employee of yours. A tax preparer would know more about this.

Also, homeowners/renters insurance usually covers "casual" employees,
and I don't know if a live-in could be considered casual, or where the
boundary is (some number of hours per day? days per week? weeks per
year?). It's best to work all this out before someone comes into your
home.

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Jo Ann Malina, make spamthis best to find my address
The injuries we do and those we suffer are seldom weighed in the same
scale. -- Aesop, _Fables_

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