Family member fell at relative's house- no negligence - do they have a case?

[GoldenGirl]

Jurisdiction

Massachusetts

A family member fell at another family member's house. (Massachusetts). They missed the last step going down the stairs, fell, and broke their hip. There are handrails, steps are intact and in good working order. No water on the stairs or any other indication to suggest the homeowner was neglectful in maintaining their property. The injured refused to use the stair lift that's installed.
The relative's son wants to go after the homeowner's insurance company. The injured relative does not want to, but the son is insistent and his motives to do so are questionable.
I don't think there is a case here, or is there?
The son was told by an attorney that his parent could get money from the insurance company and the homeowner's policy wouldn't increase. I question this as I cannot believe that the insurance policy would not increase.
Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[adjusterjack]

I don't think there is a case here, or is there?

For negligence? No.

The son was told by an attorney that his parent could get money from the insurance company and the homeowner's policy wouldn't increase. I question this as I cannot believe that the insurance policy would not increase.

A claim under the liability coverage is likely to be denied since the homeowner was not at fault.

However, all homeowner policies have Medical Payments coverage, that pays only for medical bills (nothing else) for a guest injured on the premises regardless of cause.

Medical Payments is provided in very small amounts, often $1000, $5000, or $10,000.

Unfortunately, the homeowner has a contractual duty to report the incident to his insurance so it can be properly investigated.

There is no way to avoid getting the insurance involved.

If the homeowner conceals the event from his insurance and the insurance finds out later when a lawsuit is filed, the homeowner can end up getting coverage denied and the policy rescinded, leaving himself to pay for his own legal defense and possibly damages to the injured party when a sympathetic jury finds something wrong with the steps that wasn't there. Don't think that can't happen. I've seen juries tweak reality.

 

[zddoodah]

no negligence - do they have a case?

You answered your own question (assuming your conclusion is correct).

The relative's son wants to go after the homeowner's insurance company. The injured relative does not want to, but the son is insistent and his motives to do so are questionable.
I don't think there is a case here, or is there?

If the injured person doesn't want to do anything, then what the son wants isn't relevant unless the son has a POA or undue influence over his parent.

That said, as the prior response mentioned, all homeowner's policies have med payments coverage. We had a similar incident. A friend injured himself playing basketball in our driveway. We gave him the information about our policy, and he made a claim. It did not impact our rates since there was no negligence.

 

[GoldenGirl]

thank you both