Compare Each Roofer's Plan If a Crew Member Is Hurt on Your Lot

A roof crew works at height, on hot shingles, with ladders, nail guns and a dumpster at the curb. Most roof jobs finish without anyone getting hurt, but when someone does get hurt, the first ten minutes happen on your lot, with your gate, your driveway and your yard involved. Before you choose a roofer, ask each one what the crew does, who does what, and where you fit in, if a worker falls, cuts a hand or collapses from heat while the job is open.

Roofer comparison

Compare the answers, not the tone. A roofer who says the crew is careful has not answered the question. A useful answer names a process: who is in charge on the roof that day, who calls for help, how fast, and what the crew does with the homeowner while they wait. Write down each roofer's answer in the same order so you can line them up on one sheet.

Ask who the lead on the roof will be. This should be a named person who is on the roof on the day of the work, not only the salesperson who wrote the bid. Ask whether that lead has the authority to stop the crew, move the ladders and send a worker down. If the lead is a different person each day, ask how the hand-off works.

Ask who calls 911 and when. The crew should call without waiting for you to make the decision. Ask whether the crew gives the dispatcher your full street address, the nearest cross street and the gate code, and whether that information is written on a card or sheet in the truck so it is not guessed under stress. A roofer who wants you to make the call from the lawn has told you something about the plan.

Ask about heat. St. Louis summers push roof surfaces hot enough that workers can get heat illness faster than most people expect, especially on a south or west slope in July and August. Ask how much drinking water is on your lot, where the shade break happens, and whether the crew stops for the afternoon when the heat index is high. A roofer who says they will just keep going has a different plan from one who sets a stop time in advance.

Ask where injured people go while help arrives. A worker who is hurt should not be moved by the crew without a plan, and a homeowner should not be asked to carry a worker to a truck. Ask who keeps the access path clear for an ambulance, who moves the material bundles and debris out of the way, and whether the crew knows how to reach your driveway if the trailer is blocking it.

Ask who tells you what happened. Compare the roofers on whether they will give you a same-day account of an injury on your property, who will be the person you call, and whether they will tell you which worker was hurt and what the crew has changed since. A roofer who keeps this to a phone call from a manager is harder to hold to a plan than one who puts the contact name in writing before the job starts.

What it costs

A safety plan usually costs the roofer time and equipment, not a separate line on the homeowner bill. The real cost question is whether the bid includes what the plan needs. Ask whether drinking water, a first aid kit and shade for the crew are part of the labor and materials in the bid or charged separately. Ask whether fall protection equipment, ladders and staging are included or added later as a change order. A low bid that leaves out the crew's water, shade and first aid will often come back as a request for money later in the job.

Ask whether any part of the crew is a subcontractor. If it is, ask for the subcontractor's name and whether that company carries its own workers' compensation coverage for its own people. Ask for a certificate of insurance and check that it lists the company that will actually be on your roof, not only the prime roofer. The certificate should come from the roofer's own agent. The roofer's coverage is between the roofer and its own carrier. Missouri law also bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, so a roofer should not offer to handle your own insurer for you in the event of a problem on the job.

Ask whether the roofer will put the injury response plan in the contract or a written job sheet. A written plan is easier to hold a roofer to than a verbal promise on the phone, and it gives you a page to show a family member or neighbor if you are not home when the crew is working.

What to ask

Send each roofer the same short list in writing, then compare the replies side by side. Ask for a written answer, not a call back, and note how long each roofer takes to reply.

1. Who is the named lead on the roof on the day of the work, and can that person stop the crew?
2. Who calls 911, and does the crew call without waiting for the homeowner?
3. What address, cross street and gate code does the crew give the dispatcher, and where is that information written down?
4. How much drinking water and shade is on the lot, and where is the first aid kit kept?
5. At what heat level or time of day does the crew stop, and who makes that call?
6. Where is an injured worker taken to wait for help, and who clears the access path?
7. Is any part of the crew a subcontractor, and does each company carry its own workers' compensation coverage?
8. Will you receive a certificate of insurance from the roofer's agent before the crew arrives?
9. Who tells the homeowner what happened after an injury, and what is that person's direct phone number?
10. Will the injury response plan appear in the written contract or job sheet?

Keep the answers with the bid. If one roofer answers the crew water and shade question with a shrug, or cannot name the lead, that answer belongs next to the price when you decide. The plan is part of the roof you are buying, and it should be as specific as the shingle spec and the tear-off schedule.