Woman says she was injured appraising a home and stuck with the medical bills

Vicky Jarrett says she dislocated her hip after tripping over a board while appraising a home for sale. Now, she walks with a cane and is facing thousands in medical bills but says no one is taking responsibility.

“I have slipped and fell a time or two but nothing to this magnitude,” she said.

She says she was appraising a house for sale and that she didn’t see a board leaning against the stairs.

“My right foot hit into the board which tripped me, and I fell on the tile flooring on my left hip. Immediately, I knew something was wrong, because I couldn’t move,” she said.

She told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke she dislocated her hip, which is why she uses a can and was stuck with medical bills.

“You’ve got the ambulance trip. You’ve got the emergency room. You’ve got x-rays, then your follow-up with your doctors,” she said.

She thought someone else would cover the bills, either the seller’s homeowners insurance or the company the buyer used to hire her. But she says both denied responsibility. It’s not clear why.

“I just was hoping that there would’ve been some type of assistance, I guess, but undoubtably not,” she said.

Stoogenke says that, for the most part, if you’re hurt on someone else’s property, their homeowners insurance may cover your bills but there are exceptions. It depends on their coverage and who was at fault.

If you were there because you were working like Jarrett says she was, check with your employer. If they have three or more employees, they’re supposed to have workers’ compensation insurance.

Jarrett says her employer only has two people.

“Thank God, I’ve got health insurance,” she said.

If no one’s accepting responsibility and you think they should, you may want to talk to a lawyer.

It’s also a lesson to homeowners.

Ensure you have the right coverage, so you don’t end up personally liable if someone gets hurt on your property.

That even includes if you have a dog, and it bites someone on a walk or on someone else’s property.

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