Plumber Negligence lead to water damage

[Shelly Mainus]

My furnace recently died and I hired the local fuel company to install a 10k furnace. The price seemed pretty steep but it died when it was -30 out and I had tenants in the unit. Two weeks after the install I get a call from my tenants that a pipe burst and the entire basement was full of water. It turns out that when they installed the furnace they took an old part (30 years old) and stuck it on my new furnace and of course had no intent to install the correct new piece. That part exploded resulting in the flood. The assistant manager at the store is trying to make me put in a insurance claim with my homeowners instead of using their insurance. I have a $1,000 deductible and don’t want to have to pay out for their negligence. Do I have grounds to sue? Suggestions?

[Brian Kantor]

Hey, @Shelly Mainus. Tough break.

I am going through a similar situation with an improperly installed dishwasher that burst and caused flooding.

Full disclosure, I am not an attorney and don't pretend to be. But, this seems like it should come from their insurance. They should be filing their own claim, and paying their own deductible. This is what they have insurance for. The tough part is, which I am finding out in my case, is proving negligence on their end to trigger the insurance claim.

My vendor is claiming to his insurance that he did nothing wrong and the issue was my/my tenant's fault. They are asking for such a ridiculous amount of photographic proof that I only partly have. The more proof that you have, I'd take that, go back to them and firmly but politely ask to file the claim on their end. If they still balk, you'll probably want to seek legal assistance to recoup those funds via lawsuit. You'll probably be asked to provide similar evidence, but it's POSSIBLE the burden of proof MAY be easier. Even the threat of a lawsuit may be enough to get them to the table. If your evidence is light, your attorney may advise you to settle, which may be worth considering.

Good luck.