Home Care Agencies not accepting liability

salousunrise

Hi,

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place!

5 times in 2 years my freezer has been left open overnight by a care worker, albeit from different agencies. I have a big sign on the freezer asking them to ensure the door is shut properly.

I am getting tired of claiming on my home insurance for the same thing due to carer negligence.

This time I asked the care agency to cough up, but they say that they do not accept liability for accidental damage.

This means that any carer coming into my home does not need to exercise care and respect because they have a get out clause.

I discovered from the office of fair trading before it closed who did this paper https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284437/oft635.pdf

Here they are talking about clauses in contracts being unfair in care homes by failing to take responsibility.

The question is, is there anything I can do, or do I just have to take it on my insurance? I do feel it is grossly unfair for the service user to constantly pick up the tab for their failures. There have been over breakages and negligence too.

Thank you!

salousunrise

Also, considering there is a big sign up on the freezer, is it still classed as an accident or negligence? If there is a difference?!

Cyclamen

Hummm..

my carers broke my bin lid.. i ordered another one and the office paid for it.. the same again happened a few monhs later with diff team member..they paid up ubut asked if i needed a different bin etc.. my key worker told them it was a normal bin and just an accident.

They absolutely should be paying for accidental breakages and damage. They should have insurance for this.

Does your house insurance come with free legal advice?
Can you get to a CAB?

Is this an official registered care agency? As it doesnt sound very professional.

I have insurance to cover any damage my PA might cause as I am her employer. (I use an agency and PA). I thought it was mandatory.

I really think you should follow this up.. is the agency organised by social worker if so do let them know. If you are direct payments or self funding i'd pursue it yourself..

I am sorry this has happened.

GlasweJen

I had similar happen once and it was covered by the care companies insurance. You shouldn't be expected to claim on yours since it will bump your premiums up

densol_2

Its not accidential damage ! An accident is something that cannot be anticipated or expected.

This is lazy negligence - you even have a sign on the freezer in order to warn someone to shut the door properly and they dont ! Fully anticipated ! Contact your MP and dont give up ! Things like this make me angry on your behalf !

Savvy_Sue

Can I just check: is there a problem with the door which means it doesn't shut properly?

And does it look shut when it's not?

salousunrise

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Can I just check: is there a problem with the door which means it doesn't shut properly?

And does it look shut when it's not?

Thanks everyone, its helpful to hear from others!

Sue, there is no problem with the door. Sometimes people don't shut the drawers properly or don't put things in properly so the door pops open again.

There is an alarm on the freezer which goes off quite quickly if the door is left open, and because this has happened before, more than once, I have 2 signs on the freezer in clear big letters one saying to please make sure the door is closed properly, and the other to say how many times it has not been shut properly and how much it has cost.

I have care agency workers, PA's and a Nanny, as well as myself and the children. Every single time it has not been shut properly it has been a care agency worker, never me, my children, the nanny, or the PA.

There is no way it was anyone else this time because the care worker was the only one to go to the freezer and no-one other than myself was in the house till it was discovered the following morning. I was upstairs in bed.

I do think this is negligence rather than an accident though, and I do think it is unfair of the agency to not take responsibility since there is no onus on them then to treat your property with care and respect.

pmlindyloo

salousunrise wrote: »

Thanks everyone, its helpful to hear from others!

Sue, there is no problem with the door. Sometimes people don't shut the drawers properly or don't put things in properly so the door pops open again.

There is an alarm on the freezer which goes off quite quickly if the door is left open, and because this has happened before, more than once, I have 2 signs on the freezer in clear big letters one saying to please make sure the door is closed properly, and the other to say how many times it has not been shut properly and how much it has cost.

I have care agency workers, PA's and a Nanny, as well as myself and the children. Every single time it has not been shut properly it has been a care agency worker, never me, my children, the nanny, or the PA.

There is no way it was anyone else this time because the care worker was the only one to go to the freezer and no-one other than myself was in the house till it was discovered the following morning. I was upstairs in bed.

I do think this is negligence rather than an accident though, and I do think it is unfair of the agency to not take responsibility since there is no onus on them then to treat your property with care and respect.

A couple of things to try.

Try taking the signs off. Perhaps it's pis*ing someone off and they are deliberately not checking to see if it is closed. (The sign about the cost would annoy me, especially if it was the first time I'd been to your house - I would think you were a right ****.)

Try not filling your freezer quite so full. If this has happened because the drawers are too full then in a hurry it is easy to think the door is closed and then it pops open again.

GlasweJen

Problem with not filling the freezer is that more shops are needed so either the OP would need to go shopping more often or pay fees to have shopping delivered more often. The whole point in hiring care is to fit around your lifestyle and enable you to have as normal a life as possible, if your normal is a monthly shop and filling the freezer then the care agency should respect that. Same as when my mum was a carer she used to take one of her clients shopping every other morning as that's how that client liked to shop and age related mobility problems weren't going to stop her, no one should dictate how others go about their day to day business.

In your situation OP I would call your insurer and ask them if an adult in the capacity of carer being unable to close a freezer properly and then ignoring an alarm that is drawing attention to the fact that the freezer wasn't closed is classed as an accident, it probably isn't. I'd then get back onto the care company and tell them that it wasn't an accident, the insurer said [whatever insurer said] and you want them to cover the cost and retrain their staff. A further incident will result in you seeking care elsewhere.

teddysmum

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Try not filling your freezer quite so full. If this has happened because the drawers are too full then in a hurry it is easy to think the door is closed and then it pops open again.

This has happened a number of times with my upright freezer, when there are several items in the door pockets. The items slip slightly, with the impact of closing the door, so it pops open a few minutes later. (Luckily little damage as the problem has been spotted in time).

faerielight

I used to have this issue with mylast care agency.. they left it open countless times and refused to pay the loss every time