In the summer of 2023, we began noticing water leaking into our kitchen. A plumber failed to find the source of the leak, telling us it must be coming from the roof. We had new roofing installed on all roof areas, but the leak continued. The roofers returned to search for the water leak, and they found no faults in the roof. They decided to lift some shingles that covered the outside wall at the level of the inside water leak. The wood under some shingles was wet and had some mold. They removed more shingles and found a series of holes in the wall of the house, one of which penetrated a stud and went into a drainage pipe within the wall of the kitchen. We recognized those holes: They had been drilled by McLaughlin Weatherization workers in 2014. Replacing the damaged section of the drainpipe finally stopped the water leak. We were left with large holes in the plasterboard made by the plumber in our kitchen walls and ceiling, and with broken tiles in the second-floor bathroom made during the replacement of the damaged section of pipe.
After we informed McLaughlin Weatherization of the evidence that their workers had caused the leak, they refused to take responsibility for the mistake caused by their workers. They referred us to their insurance company, The Hanover Insurance Group. A representative of that company has thrown at us one argument after another, arguing why they did not have to pay for damages. At first, the agent quoted a law which, it turns out, does not apply: She quoted Massachusetts General Laws, Part III, Title V, Chapter 260, Section 2: "Actions of contract, other than those to recover for personal injuries, founded upon contracts or liabilities, express or implied, except actions limited by section one or actions upon judgments or decrees of courts of record of the United States or of this or of any other state of the United States, shall, except as otherwise provided, be commenced only within six years next after the cause of action accrues."
However, there is an amendment to that law: See Massachusetts Laws Part III. Title V, Chapter 260, Section 12: "FRAUDULENT CONCEALMENT: COMMENCEMENT OF LIMITATIONS. "If a person liable to a personal action fraudulently conceals the cause of such action from the knowledge of the person entitled to bring it, the period prior to the discovery of his cause of action by the person so entitled shall be excluded in determining the time limited for the commencement of the action."
The agent then told us that she could not believe that a top-rated company like McLaughlin Weatherization would do such a thing. She never replied when I sent to her and McLaughlin the incontrovertible evidence of what really happened. We sent photos of the damaged pipe with the residues of the glue used by McLaughlin workers to try to plug the hole, an inadequate repair that proved to be transient. We were never told about that hole and their attempt to cover it with glue. We also sent a copy of the Massachusetts law concerning fraudulent concealment. Confronted by all the evidence, we never heard anything again from either company. Both companies refused to take any responsibility for the damage caused by the McLaughlin workers.
We would never recommend either of those companies to anyone. read more
