I'm considering hiring a contractor (CA) for driveway sealing. It's a one-person operation, so worker's comp isn't required by the state. I have 2 concerns: 1) His company doesn't carry liability insurance, but I'm concerned about being on the hook financially for damage caused directly by the contractor, and 2) if he hurts himself on our property in the course of his work, I don't want to expose us to a lawsuit. What document can I have him sign that will take care of these two issues? Thank you!
Michael Raymond DaymudeLitigation LawyerSherman Oaks, CA ·
There is no document he can sign that would "take care of" your two issues. If you want to be protected you need to 1) have liability insurance that covers in such circumstances; 2) the contractor you hire needs to carry liability AND worker's compensation insurance; 3) the contractor must be licensed and bonded. Still, you cannot protect yourself from being sued but at least you will be as protected as the law allows.
Your question mixes several areas of law and insurance together.
If your contractor is properly licensed at the time of performing work and holds himself out to a viable business entity, you have a good argument that he is NOT an employee of your and thus you don't have to have workers comp insurance coverage for him. However, if he is not properly licensed at the time, and he gets hurt while on your job,he may be deemed an employee of yours.
Look to your homeowner's policy to see if there is an exclusion for injuries to contracted employee situation.
If he does carry general liability insurance, and he gets hurt on the job or injures someone else, then you can look to his general liability policy to see if they have an ongoing operations coverage for injuries that occur while the job was in progress.
Once he finishes the job, the ongoing coverage may no longer be applicable and then you will have to see if he has completed operations coverage for the injuries.
Of course, there are a lot more issues than we have space here to get into.
Robert Pecco BakerIntellectual Property Law AttorneyVenice, CACA licensed ·
As far as being liable for damage he causes, you can have him sign an indemnification agreement.
that will not stop a 3rd party from suing you, but theoretically it will make him liable to defend you and cover any judgment (AHAHA). That is probably worth zero. So, no, you will still be sued and he will breach that agreement.
You can have him sign a document also indemnifying you for any injury sustained in the course of the job except as caused by your gross negligence- whether that stands up, I am not sure, you need to consult a workers comp expert. I think it might. But he will still sue you if it happens.
If I were you, I would shell out the extra cash and hire a licensed, bonded company that is fully insured and pays workers comp insurance. You won;t have to draft any docs and you will sleep better,
It seems as though you are looking for a standard limitation of liability and indemnification agreement. You can find many forms online providing the general language or have an attorney draft you a standard agreement.
Unfortunately these agreements are tough to enforce in a court of law. If he is injured on your property, he will sue you and the agreement will be most likely be thrown out as against public interest. If he causes damage to your property, you will have to sue him. Assuming you win, a judgment against a contractor that does not carry liability insurance will most likely be worth less than a penny.
If you hire a licensed contractor who has worker's comp and insurance you will be protected better than any limitation of liability agreement. It may cost more, but you can rest assured you are more legally protected and he will probably do a better job.
If you would like to discuss the matter further, feel free to visit my website at www.marcusmoraleslaw.com. Good luck.
