Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

In CA Does my homeowners insurance cover my son's injuries from housefire?

I'm in CA and on Feb. 2nd we had an electrical fire that consumed our entire home. Our insurance has been great about taking care of us. My son was injured in the fire. He had 35% of his body (all on his back and back of his legs) covered with 3rd degree burns. We were unable to get to his bedroom because of the fire in the hallway. Firefighters arrived and pulled him out of the fire. Our insurance has provided us with Use of Loss, Content coverage and replacement cost for our home. Does our liability coverage cover my son's injuries from the fire and his pain and suffering? How would I go about pursuing this and finding out if our liability coverage will take care of his pain and suffering?


Asked on 8/25/08, 5:39 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Stephen Petix Quinton & Petix

Re: In CA Does my homeowners insurance cover my son's injuries from housefire?

I am very sorry that your son was injured in the fire. Burns are a devastating injury.

Unfortunately, as the other responder noted, I am afraid that if you read your homeowner's policy carefully, you will probably find that injuries suffered by a family member are not covered by the liability provisions of the policy. (Look in the Exclusions section of the policy.) They are allowed to do this because of the public policy against permitting suits between family members.

You might check further with your insurance agent about medical coverage. Some policies provide for limited payment of medical expenses, regardless of fault. But pain and suffering would not be covered under such provisions, I do not believe.

As the other responder mentioned, you might also investigate to see whether the fire was caused by faulty electrical equipment or faulty installation by an electrical contractor. If so, an action against the manufacturer of the faulty equipment, or the contractor who installed it improperly, might be possible. Ask the Fire Dept for a copy of their reports on the fire.

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Answered on 8/27/08, 4:16 pm
Michael Stone-Molloy The Lion's Law Office

Re: In CA Does my homeowners insurance cover my son's injuries from housefire?

I can't be sure without looking at the documents, but I would expect that such a claim would be excluded under your own policy.

Here's a question for you, though: how exactly did the fire start? Is there the possibility that someone else, like an electrical contractor, may have insurance to cover this loss?

If there is such a possibility, then call me, so we can explore it further. I can be reached toll-free at 877-LION-FOR-LAW

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Answered on 8/26/08, 5:39 pm


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