Homeowner Claims City-hired Government Contractor Damaged Plumbing While Replacing Sidewalks
Plumbing work is not easy, but what if the city-hired contractor damages your house’s plumbing? Well, this guide is going to share the steps you can take if you have any damages.
If you are a homeowner in a planned community building with HOA (homeowner’s association), you may claim any damages of any kind of a home mess. But when any outside plumbers or government-hired plumber damages your plumbing, they are responsible for it. Also, they are bound to repair what you need.
Common Types of Defects
Before claiming any damages, you need to know the system categorizes construction damages. Generally, the defects come in three classifications –
– Construction Deficiencies
– Design Deficiencies
– Material Deficiencies
- Construction Deficiencies
Constructional defects happen due to unprofessional workmanship. For instance, when your plumber mistakes and results in water infiltrating. At the same time, other construction deficiencies are deep foundational crack, rotting wood, pest infestation, etc.
- Design Deficiencies
Sometimes, the engineers do not work properly, which causes design deficiencies. It is a concern of the construction company. If the design is not proper, then it can lead to poor drainage, leaks, or other issues.
- Material Deficiencies
One of the material deficiencies involves a company flashing the window, which cannot prevent water leaks.
Once you know the types of damages, then it would be effortless for you to ask for the damages fee. But before asking for a damages fee or repair, you need to consider a few things. So let’s discuss them in detail.
- The Contractor Must Be Insured
Before claiming any damages, ensure the contractor has insurance. That’s because when the contractors have insurance, they are usually required to have liability insurance.
So, before your home improvement project, you need to confirm that the contractor has liability insurance. Otherwise, it would be difficult to claim the damage to your home.
- What If the Insurance Company does not carry insurance?
If the government insurance company does not carry the liability of insurance, it means they are not willing to pay the damage bill. So you can file a lawsuit against them. But remember, the processing could be a month to several months.
How Do You Find a Construction Defect Lawyer?
If the contractor does not take responsibility, you need to hire a professional lawyer to fight back in court for your damages. But you need to consider a few things before hiring a lawyer.
- Experience
An experienced lawyer knows exactly how to get the damages charge. Thus, you have to find an experienced lawyer. Generally, nowadays, lawyers earn a law degree that makes them capable of handling less complicated cases. But you would need a professional attorney who actually works for the construction company’s insurer.
Remember, experience matters when it comes to arguing the case against any government contractor.
- Responsive Communicator
The lawyer you are going to hire makes sure he responds to your questions politely, plus it also makes concern for him. Having damaged plumbing is not pleasant, and it costs much to repair it.
Therefore, you have to discuss your damage charge with your lawyer several times to get back your damage charge. And if he is not responsive, then it would be a frustrating thing for you. Therefore, always look for a responsive communicator.
- Practice Area of Expertise
Generally, construction defect lawyers are highly specialized in legal niches. However, you may want to work with an attorney who specializes in handling any kind of construction damages. Hence, get an expert with lots of practice in this field.
- Positive Client Feedback
Find a lawyer who establishes positive client feedback. You can Google it to find out the reviews of the attorney. Or either you can ask someone else to know about the client feedback.
Once you discuss everything in detail with the lawyer, its’ time to hire him to file a case against a city-hired contractor; take action as soon as possible because you have already spent lots of money to repair your plumbing.
Final Thought
Last but not least, while doing the plumbing work at your home, ensure the plumber you hire to do it professionally so that there is little to no chance of damage. Yet accidents could happen at any time, so be careful while others work outside your house.