Bill Belichick’s second offseason as head football coach at North Carolina has yet to include the storm of distractions that emerged a year ago. But the experience is not distraction-free.
Via the Daily Mail, a painter has sued Belichick for injuries suffered while painting at Belichick’s home in July 2024.
Andrew Jackson contends that Belichick’s $5 million property on Nantucket had improperly maintained plastic sheeting or coverings to protect the floor and furniture, which created a “dangerous and unsafe” work environment.
From the lawsuit, which reportedly seeks nearly $300,000 in compensation: “Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to use reasonable care to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, to inspect for hazards, to warn of dangers of which it knew or should have known, and to coordinate the site in a reasonably safe manner for lawful workers present there.”
Jackson claims he fell at the work site, suffering a severe ankle injury. Jackson allegedly suffered pain, disability, lost wages, and medical expenses.
He contends that he has incurred $61,000 in hospital expenses, $4,600 in doctors’ visits and $2,000 in physical-therapy bills. Jackson also alleges that he has lost $167,828.25 in wages, and that he will lose another $50,000.
The total financial losses specified by Jackson total $285,436.39.
If Jackson can prove Belichick was responsible for the injury, and if the financial harm can be established to the satisfaction of a judge and jury, Jackson would also be eligible for an award of general damages based on his pain. That would be over and above the financial consequences — and it could push the final award well north of $300,000.
Belichick presumably has insurance that will cover the case. Still, he’ll be expected to cooperate with the litigation, unless and until a settlement is reached. Depending on the limits of Belichick’s liability coverage (and someone with his assets would be crazy not to have an umbrella policy worth at least $10 million), he’ll possibly face no specific financial losses.
Unless, of course, the insurance companies try to claim that all or part of the incident isn’t covered. Which is the first question most insurance companies ask when faced with the prospect of paying out money to anyone.
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