I was wondering about these minor DIY repairs:
- Replacing a light switch and/or upgrading a light switch to a dimmer
- Replacing an outlet
- Replacing a light fixture
- Replacing an HVAC thermostat/upgrading to a "smart" thermostat
Let's say the homeowners local government does not require a permit for this type of work, and the homeowner never had any concerns around the safety or soundness of this type of work and these repairs had been in place for years, what is the potential for liability? Is there any kind of statue/time limit around these repairs? I was reading that "discovery rule" applied, meaning couldn't it potentially be an unlimited amount of time? (I didn't know that 20 year old lightswitch was having a problem, etc)
Let's say the home owner does a few of these types of repairs/upgrades while owning the house, if the house caught fire and burned down and the cause was linked to one of these repairs, even if it was done 10-20+ years ago could the homeowners insurance deny the claim leaving the homeowner on the hook for 100% of the damages? What if the house was sold years later and the house burned down, again linked to some light switch a previous home owner installed 20 years ago?
I'm wondering if it make sense for high networth individuals to just have an electrician replace any fixtures/outlets/light switches that were previously installed by the homeowner so as to not be exposed to this potential liability in the future?
- Replacing a light switch and/or upgrading a light switch to a dimmer
- Replacing an outlet
- Replacing a light fixture
- Replacing an HVAC thermostat/upgrading to a "smart" thermostat
Let's say the homeowners local government does not require a permit for this type of work, and the homeowner never had any concerns around the safety or soundness of this type of work and these repairs had been in place for years, what is the potential for liability? Is there any kind of statue/time limit around these repairs? I was reading that "discovery rule" applied, meaning couldn't it potentially be an unlimited amount of time? (I didn't know that 20 year old lightswitch was having a problem, etc)
Let's say the home owner does a few of these types of repairs/upgrades while owning the house, if the house caught fire and burned down and the cause was linked to one of these repairs, even if it was done 10-20+ years ago could the homeowners insurance deny the claim leaving the homeowner on the hook for 100% of the damages? What if the house was sold years later and the house burned down, again linked to some light switch a previous home owner installed 20 years ago?
I'm wondering if it make sense for high networth individuals to just have an electrician replace any fixtures/outlets/light switches that were previously installed by the homeowner so as to not be exposed to this potential liability in the future?
Statistics: Posted by Yarlonkol12 — Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:43 am — Replies 23 — Views 822