Legal Question in Consumer Law in Virginia

Re: Am I liable in contract dispute

The key questions are whether the contrct is in writing, what does it say, if it is not in writing what will the judge end up believing about the contract?

If the judge believes that there was no agreement about insurance or waiving liability, then I believe you will win. A person cannot change an agreement after the fact. (The trouble is they can say that the agreement was different if it was a verbal contract, and who can contradict them?)

This is an entirely different question from whether they would be liable if you got injured. I think you should have signed the waiver, including because I doubt you could have sued them if you were injured. Now, if you were injured for reasons having nothing to do with your work -- their dog attacks you or there is a rotten spot in the floor that you fall through -- then yes, perhaps. But I don't believe you could sue them for being injured for doing your own work. That is strongly influenced by the fact that you are an independent contractor, as I understand it, you are doing the job YOUR way in your own professional judgment as a painter, and you are supposed to know what is safe and what is not.

NOW, even though the job is only $1000 -- too small in my recollection to come under the contracting license scheme -- I would suggest that you also investigate whether you should have had a contractor's license of some sort. I am NOT that familiar with those details. I just know that the rules are there. Perhaps when you are licensed as a contractor there are rules about having insurance.

However, as I recall the contractor license system, a $1000 paint job is probably too small to qualify. But you should talk to someone who knows more about contractor's licenses to be certain. Call the government office, for example, without giving your name,.