Guest got hurt in my unit

The ceiling light fixture in the closet fell on my guests toe. She went to urgent care and they gave her a boot and Ibuprofen, it is not broken, just bruised. She had to take the day off work. I called Airbnb and they said that she could file a claim with them. They told me to wait “and see what she wants.”
She hasn’t asked for anything yet, should I just let Airbnb take care of it? I feel I should offer her a refund or some cash to cover the urgent care bill, but she might file with Airbnb anyway so I am not sure what to do. She sent me photos and the doctor’s note to take the day off, but I don’t know what her co-pay was. She is with me for 3 more nights. I feel very bad about it. I welcome any advice.

Let Air handle things. That’s part of what you pay them for (Service Fees). Do Not offer refunds or anything other than a second bottle of ibuprofen.

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Wow! This is amazing. Talk about a freak accident. I’ve never seen a fallen ceiling light. This is quite the oversight on maintenance on your part so I wouldn’t hesitate to do everything in my power to make the rest of her stay as comfortable as possible.

Surely you have a liability policy in place? You should check with your insurance company as well.

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I do not have a policy! I screwed that fixture on myself, really tight. It is a chain light. I won’t put a fixture on it in the future. I will certainly try to make her comfortable. I have made a lot of concessions for this guest. But that doesn’t excuse this.

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*I mean I do not have a special policy. It’s a room in my house that I rent.

Ah, so it gets pulled on all the time. I don’t have any of those kind of fixtures. I’d see about switching to a different style of light with a motion detector or a wall switch.

If you don’t have a lot of other claims with Airbnb they will probably be helpful. I would advise to just keep lines of communication open with the guest and Airbnb. If I were the guest I have insurance but I would expect all my deductibles or anything not covered by my insurance to be paid by you or Airbnb.

Keep us posted about what happens.

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As said above, definitely. That’s what the 3% is for.

JF

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I will have to get a wall switch installed, that will mean breaking through the wall, ugh. Obviously I won’t put another light fixture up, it will be naked bulbs until I have a few days without guests.
I don’t have any claims with Airbnb. Should I suggest the guest contact Airbnb for her out-of-pocket expenses? Or should I offer a refund? She put her foot up and was on the phone with her friends and her mother, while I scurried around like a mad woman. I asked a friend to come over at 9:30 pm to help make sure there were no little bits of glass on the tile floor, just to have a second set of eyes. I am so stressed and worried about this.

If she has her own health insurance, they may contact you or Airbnb about it. If she paid for treatment out of her own pocket, then she should file a claim with Airbnb.

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No. Look into the battery powered LED type of lights. Perfect for a closet, something along the lines of this: https://www.amazon.com/OxyLED-Dimmable-Wireless-Lighting-Operated/dp/B07QN3X325

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I wonder if that would give me enough light. This was a small walk-in closet but I removed the door and it now holds a full sized fridge, ironing board, vacuum cleaner etc. Maybe multiple light sources would be a good idea. More batteries to change, though.

Wait until Airbnb settles with her. If you give her any money now, it’s like agreeing that you were at fault. Wait and let Airbnb take care of it. If they don’t then have the guest contact your short term homeowner’s insurance.

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It kills me not to offer her something, but she may well ask. The Airbnb rep said it would go under the host guarantee. I am so upset I snoozed my listing.

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The one I linked can be dimmed which may be needed in a closet. I have several of these which are not dimmable. The output of light is significant.

Place the fixture at the ceiling and it will light a large area.

You can easily do a surface mount for a wall switch yourself. They aren’t elegant but in a closet it’s not a big deal. Or if it’s stud and drywall most pro electricians can easily fish it through to the wall, they don’t have to break into a wall.

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I’d take a thorough look at your homeowners insurance before you submit a claim to them. If you see that the insurance doesn’t cover business activity in your home (which it’s pretty much the default), there’s a better than decent chance your insurer will not only deny you but will cancel your policy if you submit a claim.

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I wouldn’t even offer the ibuprofen.

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The woman hasn’t even broken anything. Offering refunds and flustering around her is going to make it seem that you are liable. That would be admitting liability.

Her travel insurance or medical insurance should cover treatment, if any.

The lesson to us all here is to make sure that the places we offer are safe! There are some jobs in rentals that can be DIY (YouTube is a great resource) but anything involving electrics should be done by an electrician for everyone’s safety.

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I called Airbnb this morning and they told me to wait for the guest to take action. I feel awful not offering to compensate her.

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I don’t think ths involved electrics- sounds to me like the bulb was already there and the host added a light fixture cover, but didn’t secure it properly.

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