Insurance company want money for claim

nenaw

Hello, I'm not entirely sure if I've posted this in the correct area but I was hoping someone could offer some advice.


On the 8th of June my sisters flat, infact the whole street had no water due to a burst water main. Her daughter (who is 6) went into the bathroom and turned on the taps in the sink but, of course no water came out. Her being only 6 didn't realise that the taps needed to be turned back off, so in a sense the taps were left open.


My sister not realising that the taps were on, went out with her kids. When the water was turned back on for the area the taps obviously started running. The other issue is that her sink drain is very slow to drain away (she has told the building manager, but this has never been fixed). So, now with the taps running full on, the sink couldn't drain away quick enough and the bathroom flooded.


The damage to her bathroom was mininal but the neighbour below her was also getting flooded - Now my sister was away at her partners house and her phone was on silent. When she realised that people had been trying to contact her to inform her that her flat and the neighbours was flooding it had been over 2 hours and the fire brigade had been called and got in through a window and turned the water to the flat off.


The neighbours insurance company (who have already paid out) have said that the want the money from my sister because they claim she was negligent (it wont let me attach the image for some reason but here is a link to the letter: i.imgur.com/aSY14QR.jpg). But the information they have is wrong, it was NOT the bath that over filled, it was the sink which as I've said has a slight block causing it to drain slowly.


This insurance company is claiming that my sisters daughter left taps running with the plug in the bath and my sister just allowed that to happen. But like I say, how was she supposed to know that the taps were on and a 6 year old having the forethought to realise that because no water was coming out that the taps still needed to be turned off.


What should my sister do? Is she really liable? Should she not pay? I assume that the insurance company will take her to court if she refuses to pay?


I hope that makes sense... Any help would be great.


Thanks


Here is the letter they sent: i.imgur.com/aSY14QR.jpg

BoGoF

Doesn't your sister have her own insurance? If she has pass the letter onto them.

Bottom line is if it can be shown that your sister (or someone in the house) have been negligent then potentially she is liable. Don't fixate on the fact the letter says bath when it was the sink.

I would say what is negligence for an adult may not be for a child but your sister may be considered negligent for not checking all taps were off especially as she knew the sink was slow draining. If she doesn't have insurance she should reply stating the facts.

Aretnap

Negligence means failing to take the level of care that would be expected of a reasonable person. In the case of a child the child's age would be taken into account in deciding what level of care could reasonably be expected of them, so a six year old cannot plausibly be found to be negligent in a case like this. However your sister MIGHT be considered negligent for not checking that the taps were off before going out. Ultimately what level of care is expected of a reasonable person is for a court to decide in each case - that's is not a definitive list of what does and doesn't amount to negligence in every concievable set of circumstances.

If your sister has home/contents insurance of her own it will almost certainly include a liability section which will cover any liability that she does have for this incident - she should contact her own insurer immediately and do what they tell her rather than attempting to deal with it herself. Her insurer will either pay out to the other insurer if they feel that your sister is liable or tell them to get stuffed if that don't - then deal with any court case on your sisters behalf.