Who Pays if a Roofer Falls Off Your Roof in California

Roofing Is One of the Most Dangerous Jobs There Is

This is not a rare problem. Roofers had a fatal injury rate of 51.8 per 100,000 full time workers in 2023, based on federal data, and 110 of the 134 roofing deaths that year came from a fall, slip or trip.¹⁰ That is about 82 percent.

For all workers in the country, the rate was 3.5 per 100,000.¹¹ So a roofer is many times more likely to die on the job than the average worker.

Ontario homes add their own risk. Many of the tract homes built here from the 1980s to the 2000s carry concrete tile, and tile is slick with dust, breaks under a bad step and rolls when a loose piece gives way. A one story eave is already high enough to cause a serious injury.

So the question is fair. If someone gets hurt on your roof, who pays the hospital bill?

The Answer Depends on Who You Hired

California sorts this out mostly through workers' comp, not through suing the homeowner. Who carries that comp depends on the license.

A licensed roofing contractor. The C-39 roofing license can't use the no employees exemption. A roofing contractor has to keep workers' comp on file with the Contractors State License Board or lose the roofing classification.⁶ When one of their workers falls, that policy pays the medical bills and lost wages.

The CSLB says it plainly. If a contractor has employees, they must carry workers' comp, and if an uninsured contractor's worker is hurt on your property, you could be on the hook for the injuries and rehab.¹

An unlicensed crew. The license rules drive who counts as an employee. Labor Code 2750.5 presumes that a worker doing work that needs a contractor's license is an employee. It also says anyone doing that work has to hold a valid license to count as an independent contractor.² The California Supreme Court has noted that, under an earlier ruling, this can make the homeowner the employer of an unlicensed contractor's worker.⁷

A guy you paid cash for a quick fix. No license and no comp means no insurer standing between that worker and you. The next section shows why a short job is the riskiest kind.

When Your Homeowners Policy Steps In

California has a backstop most homeowners never hear about. Insurance Code 11590 says a homeowners liability policy can't be issued or renewed in the state without workers' comp coverage for household employees.⁵

A household employee is someone hired by the owner of a home to do work tied to owning, keeping up or using the home.³ Roof work on your own house can fit that.

But there is a gap. That coverage doesn't reach a worker who was hired for fewer than 52 hours in the 90 days before the injury, or for $100 or less in wages.⁴ A one day roof repair often lands inside that gap.

That is what happened in Fernandez v. Lawson. A homeowner hired an unlicensed tree service to trim a palm about 50 feet tall for $450. A worker fell and was badly hurt. The homeowner's insurer denied the comp claim because the worker hadn't met the hours and pay test, so the worker sued the homeowner.⁷

The homeowner won at the California Supreme Court in 2003, but only after the case went all the way up. The court held that this kind of noncommercial work at a home fell under the household domestic service exception to Cal/OSHA rules.⁷ It also said it was not deciding the question for other home projects.⁷

A win after a trip through three courts is still a trip through three courts. That is the real cost of hiring the cheapest crew.

Can the Roofer Sue You Anyway?

A worker can always file a lawsuit. Winning one against a homeowner who hired a licensed, insured contractor is a different story.

Under the Privette rule, a person who hires an independent contractor is generally shielded from injury claims by that contractor or its workers.⁸ A California attorney's column on a roof fall lists three common exceptions to that shield.⁸

You took control of the work. If you direct how the job is done and that adds to the injury, the shield can fail.

You hid a danger. If you knew about a rotted section of deck or a weak patio cover and said nothing, that is a failure to warn.

You handed over bad equipment. Lending your own wobbly ladder is the classic example.

So the safe moves are simple. Tell the roofer about soft spots and old repairs. Let them run the job site. Don't loan tools. And keep kids, pets and cars clear of the drop zone.

How to Protect Yourself Before Work Starts

Look up the license. The CSLB's free Check a License tool searches by license number, business name or a person's name.¹² The license record shows the contractor's address, insurance carrier and agency.¹

Ask for the certificate. The CSLB says to ask for a copy of the certificate of insurance, or the carrier and agency name. A licensed contractor also has to tell you about both kinds of insurance in your written contract.¹

Know the two policies. Workers' comp covers the crew. General liability covers damage to your house, and the CSLB notes it isn't required.¹ If a contractor has none, ask how damage would be paid for.

Watch for fall protection. On new homes, Cal/OSHA's residential roofing rule requires fall protection when a worker could fall 6 feet or more on slopes up to 7:12, and at any height on steeper roofs.⁹ Harnesses, guardrails, nets or scaffolding all count. A crew walking a tile roof with nothing tied off is telling you how they run.

Be careful with the cash discount. A lower bid that skips comp just moves the risk onto your homeowners policy, and maybe onto you.

We put photos of every repair in the file, and we'd rather show you the roof than have you climb up for a look. If you want a roof inspection or a roof repair estimate, the first thing to check is the license on whoever shows up.

For a free written estimate on a roof replacement or a repair, call Ontario Roofing at (909) 404-9464.