QUESTION
What sort of remedy or compensation I can get, in addition to the work being done and items replaced?
Asked on Oct 04th, 2013 on Personal Injury - South Carolina
More details to this question:
I am on the 5th floor of a coop apt and another owner is in the above apt on the 6th floor. While their contractor is doing work in the 6th floor apartment, a beam falls and pierces my bedroom ceiling. About a quarter of my ceiling falls down and leaves a mess. I think that the whole ceiling has to be done since it is now structurally not sturdy. However, he says that he will only patch up just where the ceiling fell and not the whole ceiling. Part of the ceiling also damaged my door but he says that he will not fix it or anything else. Is that reasonable? When I mention that my own contractor can do work for a certain amount, he states the amount is much too high. My contractor stated between $4000 and $5000 to fix everything. Should I have to use his contractor, especially since I'm not sure that he will do a quality job? Also, his contractor does not want to show me his license. My computer is full of dust and now runs slowly, my dresser and bed has rocks and dirt all over it, and radio, fan, cameras, shoes, etc are damaged. The owner states that that he will not give me money replace my items and that I can dust and clean them up. Is that reasonable? I want him to give me the money so that I get new items. The owner is being cheap and claiming that I'm lying about everything. This has been a big inconvenience for me. Can I get additional money for inconvenience, stress, etc? How should I proceed with this? This looks like a small claims court issue, if we cannot reach an agreement.
3 ANSWERS
Ronald A. Steinberg
You have a claim against the person above you. That person will have a claim against their contractor. I suppose that you could sue the contractor directly, but I like having more than one target.
Answered on Oct 11th, 2013 at 3:18 PM
Personal Injury Attorney serving Charlotte, NC
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Paul Whitfield and Associates P.A.
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Answered earlier. You get actual damage. read your contract documents if you have theestion
Answered on Oct 08th, 2013 at 2:53 AM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Anderson, SC
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The David F. Stoddard Law Firm
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Try to get insurance information from the contractor and neighbor. It will go smoother if you are dealing with an insurance adjuster than these individuals because adjusters are used to settling claims. If there is no insurance coverage for this event, things could get more difficult. You can sue the contractor, and perhaps the neighbor (although the neighbor may not be liable for the contractor's negligence) in small claims court. However, any judgment you obtain may be difficult to collect if there is no insurance. As far as replacing your items, you are entitled to the cost of repairing them, plus any diminished value caused by the accident, of the fair market value, whichever is less. Fair market value is what they would sell for used. You are not entitled to have the cost of replacing them with new items.
Answered on Oct 07th, 2013 at 12:13 PM