Determining who is at fault, or responsible for, an insured loss is an important aspect of the insurance claims industry. The subrogation process can be a key element of the Amset engineer’s investigation.  Amset plays a vital role in assisting their clients with subrogation cases that involve technical equipment such as electronics, electrical and electro-mechanical machinery.

Equipment or Installation?
A propane gas fireplace was slowly contaminating a home with soot. Amset investigated and determined that the company who had installed the fireplace did not position the ceramic logs according to the installation manual instructions. This resulted in incomplete combustion and soot deposits. Subrogation against the fireplace installer led to a court hearing wherein the fireplace company was found 100% liable for soot damages to the home and furnishings.

Gas fireplace emitting soot. Loose-fitting glass allowed soot to enter home.

Improper orientation of ceramic logs choking off air supply

Fireplace exhaust duct laden with soot

Improper Installation
Amset was hired to investigate the failure of a commercial water softener which had leaked during overnight hours and caused significant water damage to a banquet hall. Based on our testing, it was proven that the nylon insert was cross threaded from improper installation. Our client was able to recover nearly the full cost of the paid damages from the installer’s insurance company.

Water softener tank

O-ring area that allowed water to  leak out

Cross threading by the service company caused the leak,
not the O-ring.

Boiler Maintenance
A large condominium boiler caught on fire, causing heat intense enough to melt a hole in one of the cast iron segments. The cause of the boiler “dry-firing” was determined to be the failure of the low water cutoff controls due a buildup of sludge. Subrogation was successful against the company who held the service contract for failure to maintain the boiler properly.

New replacement boiler

Original boiler with a melted section caused by dry-firing