Question
I live in WV and a friend of mine was asking me this question about a letter they received in the mail. Her
husband, which was her boyfriend at the time of the
accident, fell in a bath tub at a hotel and cracked the
tub but didn't get hurt his self. They turned it in to
the desk clerk when they were checking out the same day.
A month or so later they received a call from the
manager, stating that it was never reported and that
it was done purposely. Which was definitly not the
case. There were 8 people in the group. They had
reserved two rooms. which meant 4 in a room. Apparently
the manager was very nasty with the guy. A year
later(December) they received a letter from a subrogation
company stating they wanted his insurance to pay and all
kinds of stuff like that. And then it stated that they
would put a lien against any real property if further
legal matters is taken. What does this mean exactly?
We are not really familar with anything like this? If
there is somebody that could help me I would greatly
appreciate this.
Answer
It almost sounds as if they trashed the place or fought in in the tub.
The hotel owner reported it to its insurance company. They paid the hotel for the damages.
The insurance company then has the right to go after anyone else repsonsible for the damages, and they are seeking to collect from who they believe is the wrongdoer responsible for the damage. So they sent him the threatening letter. They expect him to report it to his homeowners insurance company who they hope will kick in funds to help recover what they paid the hotel owner. The trouble is that he did not report it to his insurance company, and if it is intentional, his company is not going to pay. So they will go after him.
He might repsond that he himself was injured in the accident that caused the damage (assuming he was actually injured) and he had not wanted to make a lawsuit out of it, but he intends to sue the hotel if they pursue it and he will counterclaim.
But he'd better see a lawyer soon. If he had a legal plan, he would be able to have a lawyer handle this for him, FREE.
Answer
It was not done intentionally. They were visiting
the city for a sporting event and they didn't get
back to the hotel till late that night and there
were two couples in each room. There was no party
at all, no drinking of the sort. The man fell in
the bath tub the following morning when they was getting
ready to leave. He has no type of insurance at all.
Can he fight this???