Property Damage Claim: Our Personal Experience with a Flooded Home

Often as a lawyer, we cannot tell the stories that our clients have gone through. This story happened to our Partner Erika Hachey and is a real-life example of how an insurance claim is processed in New Brunswick. 

It was Friday March 6, 2020. Erika was getting ready for her daughter’s birthday party, which was taking place the next day. In her usual frenzy of cleaning, she threw a load of clothes in the wash. Normally she would only run the washer while she was home, however she was in a rush and left for work.

Around 2:30pm, Erika gets a frantic call from her father-in-law, who had gone over to the house to prepare for the party. The washer had overflowed and the water was EVERYWHERE.

When she arrived home, the water was all the way to her front door from the back of the house. The washer had malfunctioned and pumped water out since 8am. She went to the basement and there was a foot and a half of water. The ceiling collapsed and was floating. What are you supposed to do in this situation?

Erika immediately called her insurance provider, who said an adjuster would call her shortly. In the meantime, she took photographs of the water as her husband and father-in-law cleaned it up.

The adjuster called within 40 minutes and said he was on his way. It was the start of March break, and many people were on vacation. The adjuster called the property restoration company of Erika’s choice, and they were also there within the hour.

The emergency clean up was done quickly. All the carpet was torn out of the basement, which was dripping wet. Any items which were water logged were put in a pile.

After the clean up was done, Erika and her husband thought, well, this should be okay…right? Unfortunately, that was not the case. Trevor, the property restoration expert from New Brunswick, told them that the main floor and basement would need to be completely stripped, the flooring and drywall removed, and that they would need to move out of the house.

The adjuster found a rental house nearby for them and their two young children to move into. He hoped it would be for only a month or two, which was shocking. He told them to be ready to move within a few days.

Over the weekend, with the birthday party cancelled, Erika and her husband noticed the walls and flooring started to bulge.

They started packing, however were honestly in shock. How could they move out of their house for months? Over a washer?

The washer had been serviced only a few months earlier, which Erika told to the adjuster. He had an engineer come into the house and take the washer apart to see if the service company could be held responsible for the water leak.  

In the meantime, a moving company was called to move all the items in the home into storage. The moving company alone took a week, as everything in the main part of the house had to be boxed up.

Unfortunately the move had to take place on her daughter’s birthday, with a small celebration at the new rental house. Two days later, the COVID lockdown hit. Everything came to a halt in the world, including with the restoration process.

Erika went and picked out all the paint and flooring, even though it was weeks away, as the hardware stores were afraid of shutting down.

Erika picked out new kitchen cabinets through email and being 6 feet away at all times.

Trevor and his company also created a proof of loss list of all the items that had been destroyed in the flood. This was difficult to review as most of the items were still in storage, and everyone was on lockdown.

In the meantime, the daycare shut down, meaning Erika and her husband, who both continued to work full time, had additional childcare to attend to while living in a rental home with minimal activities, and no where to go.

It was a LONG two months.

The restoration crew were only allowed to work one person at a time inside, so this also delayed construction, through no fault of their own. Everyone was lovely to deal with, however the added stress and frustration was difficult, and at times emotional.  

Finally, almost exactly two months after the washer malfunctioned, Erika and her family could move back into the house. The saga was not over however, as the insurance company refused to pay for the kitchen cabinets to be replaced. They stated that the upper cabinets could remain, even though the bottom cabinets had been ruined by the water and had to be removed.  

Of course, Erika sued the insurance company. But that’s another story.

If you're dealing with property damage and struggling with insurance companies, you don't have to do it alone. Let Moss Hachey Law help you get the compensation you deserve. Based in New Brunswick, we're here to fight for you. Call us today.