Water Damage to Below Unit, How Do You Determine Fault

[angelwluck]

My neighbor below us advised us we had a leak because she had large water stains on her ceiling. We did indeed have a clog that we fixed. She turns on her AC and comes up to us the next day to tell us we're leaking again. We look and our utility closet is bone dry. My husband goes down and looks at her unit and sees the AC is leaking. He also notices there may be mold in the utility closet. How can we determine if the mold was caused by her or by us? I haven't filed a claim yet with insurance because I have a $1000 deductible. If we're only responsible for the ceiling damages then it won't cost that much to fix. But if it turns out we caused the mold, we'll be happy to take care of it. But I have doubts we're to blame. Unfortunately, this is a single woman living by herself that is hard of hearing and doesn't understand things very well. I feel like I am taking advantage of her if I ask her to file a claim with her insurance. Any advice will help.

Thank you

[Mr. Knowitall]

You can't determine who caused the mold. Water is water.

If she files a claim with her own insurance, and they believe they have a basis to go after you, they'll attempt to recover through your insurance. So it's not really taking advantage of her to suggest that she start with her own insurance company.