Insurance Co. retracts settlement offer

Hello all,

Approximately two years ago I was injured while working on a home owner's vehicle. I was using said home owner's tools to perform the repair as they were made available to me. As I was placing a jack stand under the vehicle, the jack which belongs to the homeowner, lost pressure. When the hydraulic pressure of the jack was lost the vehicle rapidly fell toward the ground. Unfortunately, my dominant index finger was on the stand and was severed by the force of the descending vehicle.

After much deliberation, the home owner's insurance company found him twenty percent liable for the injury as he didn't inspect the jack prior to making available for the requested repair. The insurance co. subsequently made a monetary offer to settle the claim. The insurance representative and I went debated the degree to which his client was liable for approximately two months.

I received a call from the aforementioned agent today in which he stated that his company is now offering me nothing. The agent claimed that in my state of residence a fifty percent liability on the home owner's part is required for any settlement offer to be made.

First off, given the circumstances I feel the home owner was at least fifty percent liable for injuries incurred. Secondly, can an insurance company make formal offers and then retract them due the ex post facto discovery of statutes? If I had accepted the offer and received a check could they have, in theory, taken it away? I have yet to speak to an attorney, but any input here would be appreciated.

Thanks