I arrived to a sit that was going to be about 20 days long. I tripped over an unseen metal piece sticking out from the bed frame and fell and hit my head pretty bad. I am recovering and want to continue the sit. Unfortunately, the pet parents now no longer want to use Trusted House sitters because they are worried about liability. I so far have no incurred any medical costs. Their homeowners insurance is supposed to be used if needed and THS’s website says they may cover as secondary to that. However, pet parents do not want to put any claims at all into their insurance. They have also asked me to leave in the middle of the sit. This is awful predicament for me.
They have given me four days to stay to recovery but now I am scrambling to find an alternate place to stay for 12 nights in an extremely expensive area. This adds insult to injury. I am also trying to finding out if my premium membership will pay the 150 a day minus the 150 charge to defray this cost. I am waiting to here back.
I got injured because of a trip hazard and now have to leave a stay that I am able to do because of the pet owners are worried about liability and are cancelling their THS membership. I am headed to an expensive hotel with no kitchen and will incur unexpected expenses because of their decision to end the sit early.
Seeking input, advice and support as I consider whether I am going to continue to be a sitter.
I feel for you and hope you’re okay, but I can sort-of understand the predicament the pet parents now feel, and I’m not sure whether you can with hurting at the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, I know you’ve hurt yourself. But they’re naturally trying to be cautious now, because you arrived, and I am guessing quite quickly told them about tripping and hitting your head, because you wrote, I arrived to a sit that was going to be about 20 days long, so it must have happened really early in the sit.
They haven’t had chance to get to know you properly yet, and there’s mention of a trip hazard accident, although there’s no medical costs, there’s already talks of insurance and liability. So they are trying to naturally control the situation as best they can.
How many reviews have you got with THS? If you haven’t got many perhaps that will make them naturally more cautious too.
I tripped and fractured my toes once a sit once, but I said nothing to the owner until they returned, because I didn’t want them to panic them while they were away, but in my scenario I didn’t involve their insurance.
Ring the emergency number for THS and speak to them for advice.
So how many reviews have you got so far on THS as that will play a part in their thinking. And have you actually been to hospital about it or seen a doctor or anything like that?
I can see you’re waiting to hear from Membership Services, so I’ve let the team know you’ve come to the Forum for some support, and asked if someone can get back to you.
I hope that you’re recovering with no issues from your fall, please let us know how you are, if you can.
@KellyK this sounds very stressful-
if you call the Urgent Support Phone Line - it’s available 24 / 7 and you can speak to an agent .
They will be able to give you advice straightaway . The number is on your dashboard .
What they should have been worried about is the metal piece sticking out and your well-being as their guest. I’m not sure what they expect having guests, but THS is not for everyone. I think they have put you in a very unfair situation, putting expenses on you for something that was their responsibility.
Silversitters shared this on the claim process for THS-insurance:
It seems it is very important that you follow each step, incl. I believe applying for local sits if any (you need to end your current sit to be able to actually apply but can search and look into it without).
You can ofc look into Couchsurfing and local Facebook-groups for cheap accommodation, but just be sure not to put your safety on the line.
I’d recommend you should take screenshots of all messages, to prove it is the HOs who want to end the sit early, not you. If you have premium membership you should be covered for alternative accommodation costs within 20 miles of the sit.
You say you hit your head ‘pretty bad’, did you need stitches, or treatment at an A&E department? Did you bleed onto carpets or bedding, or was any damage caused to anything other than yourself? I’m aware that cuts to the head can bleed profusely. Personally, if none of the above had occurred, I’d not have informed the HOs during the sit, since what can they do about it? I realise this is an unfortunate accident and not your fault, but what was to be gained by alerting them? Which country is this? I think there’s more of a claim-culture in the US?
You say the sit is of 20 days duration and the HOs have said you can stay for 4 more days to recover (how did they arrive at that date? Have you agreed?) but that means you will still need 12 nights accommodation. So, did this accident happen on day 4 of the sit?
Did you seek medical care for a possible concussion? If not I am confused when you said you are recovering. Please explain what that means. Were you dizzy, got a headache, etc and needed to stay in bed? Did any of this impact the care of the pets?
I’m a sitter but as a homeowner for 30 years, I would also get suspicious if the sitter called me or texted me and said they did not go to a physician ( you said no medical bills so far) and started to talk about homeowners liability insurance. It can feel like I am being set up. Why did you mention your fall to the homeowner if you did not seek medical care? I have bumped into many bed frames but I am confused how a fall came from that. I am sorry if you got injured I’m just trying to figure out why the homeowner was notified. Why didn’t you wait on their return to suggest fixing that hazard. It would have been different if you sought medical care but said you did not. I am sorry that the homeowner canceled their membership because they are now sacred to have a TH in their house.
I gathered from the OP’s post that it was the HO that mentioned liability and insurance rather than OP, and OP confirmed that they’ve not incurred any medical costs.
Hopefully @KellyK can pop back with a little more context, if they need any more support, but they are being actively supported (as is the HO) via Membership Services, which I think is the best way forward for this situation.
Hey everyone, I am in the USA and arrived to a sit where the pet owners were to depart the next day. I went with one owner on a dog walk right when I arrived. When we returned, I later place my purse on the bed in the guest room and turned to go to the bathroom (steps away and tucked to the side of the bed that blocks direct access) when I tripped on something and flew into the bathroom door frame headfirst damaging my eye glasses and hitting my forehead hard enough that a big lump immediately started forming. I managed to get up and I raised the blanket on the bed and discovered a metal piece that protrudes from the bed frame. That is what I tripped on and it was hidden by the blanket. That is when I learned that the bed was a fold out bed and that was the lever to pull it down.
The pet owners were there when I fell and called an ambulance. I was evaluated and they offered to take me to the hospital. I opted to wait and see if any severe concussion symptoms developed. I discussed with the pet owners and they said that in a worse case scenario that a friend could come to take care of their dog. They arranged this with the friend. The EMTS said I should monitor my symptoms for 3-4 days. That evening the home owner looked into THS website and contacted a representative who explained that the homeowner insurance is used first for any injuries to sitters and THS has secondary insurance. I went to bed under the assumption that we had arranged for me to stay but unless I was worse off in the morning.
The next morning, I asked both pet owners to go over the rest of the responsibilities of the sit. I was committed to staying and am recovering from my injury. What ensued was the husband saying that they wanted to end the sit because he started thinking of all the ways someone could injure themselves on the property. He is the one that brought up insurance the night before and he contacted his agent who advised him to not make any claims and to not use Trusted House sitters anymore. A long uncomfortable discussion was had and the his wife insisted on rescheduling her flight to join him in four days to stay at the home to monitor me for a concussion. I had encouraged her to depart. So I was uncomfortable that she was putting of her trip for me. I hoped that they would see I was fine on day 4 and let me stay and I voiced my desire to continue the sit multiple times. I was told no.
We have all contacted THS multiple times about this situation. Although I want to stay, they are opting to end the sit on day 4. I have made a hotel reservation for the 12 days. However, I am uncertain as to whether THS will cover this cancellation by pet owners.
The whole situation is bad and I wish they would let me stay and do they sit. They instead are ending their membership at Trusted House sitters, having a friend travel daily from afar to take of the dog, and I am going to be in an low end hotel at an expensive price point (because of location and last minute), and without a kitchen. I also have head and body pain from the fall. No bleeding.
See my elaboration below. I am still at the sit. I am with one of the HOs who insisted on staying with me for 4 days “just in case”. I encouraged them to go ahead on their trip. I did not need stitches. Both HOs were present when I fell. I have not damaged anything at the property other than my own prescription eye glasses when my head hit the door frame of the bathroom.
Thanks I did this twice previously. The problem is that the representatives were not knowledgeable enough to address this situation and we are waiting to hear back from another team.
I’ve been checking in on the tickets relating to your case, and I’ve contacted the team again about getting back to you. Hopefully you’ll hear from them soon.
Your full extended story shows it in a different league entirely. They were there!!! I hope you get things sorted. I think under the circumstances they could have least offered to pay your hotel bill for you, if they didn’t want to involve insurance etc. I’m glad you’re okay (ish). Fingers x’d THS can help resolve it.
That makes more sense. The homeowner should not of listened to their insurance company. The insurance company is just trying not to pay. They are playing the blame game. Your hotel bills need to be covered. If TH is not covering all of it you can take the homeowner to small claims court to recover what you had to pay out of your pocket. I don’t know if you are also from the US to take them to small claims court in the jurisdiction where their home is located. Small claims court is a small fee and the homeowners pay it back to you in the judgment when you win. If you start to get signs of your body not feeling well and have to see a doctor I suggest talking to a PI attorney. No cost to you and if he helps you recover medical bills and pain and suffering costs, he just takes a percentage. I hope you don’t get any later signs of health problems from the fall. If you like to post the area you are in there could be a sitter at home who has an extra bedroom or guest house to stay in for those days. There is a platform called host a sister. It is national and it’s women letting other women stay at their house if they need a few days to stay while traveling. No fee to join. My neighbor did that about 5 years ago. Good luck.
@KellyK, sorry to hear of your injury. Irrespective of housesit matters then we hope that you are not injured and recover quickly.
We’ve faced two sit cancellations by Pet Parents - one that was eligible under Sit Cancellation Insurance. Stressful times. We’re pretty familiar with related terms & conditions. See weblink below.
Worth noting that THS is a policy holder, not an insurance company. They will have presumably passed relevant facts to the underwriter for a decision.
For what it’s worth, I’d guess that your situation would be eligible under THS Sit Cancellation Insurance. Provided that Pet Parent cancels sit (seems case); there are currently no open THS houseslt listings within 20 miles of original housesit; your new hotel reservation is within 20 miles of housesit location; daily cost less than US$150; total cost less than US$1500; you can provide receipts of hotel costs. If approved, reimbursement takes a few weeks (if organized).
Thanks, yes I am aware of the cancellation policy as POs have cancelled for sickness before. I have reserved a hotel within 20 miles. It will cost more than more than $1500 as it is last minute in an expensive town. If I could have gone beyond 20 miles, I could have found something better. I wish that there was not this 20 mile limit, especially consider that the max is $150. This is low nowadays in the USA, especially last minute reservations. I am staying at the an airport hotel that is low end and will not have a kitchen. And then I have to foot the 150 fee and a few hundred above the $1500. This is exasperating as I am able to do the sit. I never needed bed rest. I am able to walk the dog, feed the dog, water the plants, fill the hummingbird feeders, take care of the trash etc. This is all because the HOs are worried that their insurance policy will be canceled for California wildfire risk if any claims are submitted at all.
