If you're a tenant in an apartment or rental house and you've been injured in a slip & fall accident, can your landlord be held liable for your injuries?
The answer is yes, under certain circumstances and depending on the nature of your accident. Below are some explanations about how the law protects you.
Was Negligence a Factor In Your Accident?
Most personal injury cases revolve around proving negligence and the same is true with slip and fall accidents. When presenting a claim for damages, you must be able to demonstrate that the property owner or maintainer was negligent in some way.
Just falling and sustaining an injury is not enough if there was no negligence at play. Your landlord would need to have directly or indirectly caused, or failed to prevent, the accident which caused your injury.
Examples of Negligence
Let's look at an example where your landlord may be negligent and could be held accountable. Say there is a broken staircase leading to your apartment. You have complained several times to your landlord but the stairs remain unsafe.
You then fall as a direct result of the defective stairs, which results in a bodily injury. Here, your landlord was made aware of the problem yet failed to address the unsafe condition, knowing someone may be injured. Under these circumstances, a landlord or property owner could be found negligent and liable for the resulting damages.
Had you not informed your landlord of the problem, or if the landlord could not have been reasonably aware of the problem, then the landlord may not share a portion of liability under the circumstances. On the other hand, if they should have reasonably known the staircase was in disrepair, then they could be found negligent.
What Types of Damages You Can Pursue From Your Landlord?
If your landlord's negligence proximately caused injury, you may be able to seek compensation for the following damages:
- Medical Bills
- Lost Wages
- Pain & Suffering
- Disability
- Emotional Distress
Personal Safety & Security
In addition to making sure your rental property is safe from disrepair, landlords and property owners are also responsible for your personal safety. If, for example, your property has inadequate security and you become the victim of a crime, the landlord or property owner could be held liable in civil court.
Most states require landlords to provide reasonable security measures to protect tenants from crime. There have been settlements to victims where crimes have taken place on their property where the proper precautions were not taken.
How The Reinartz Law Firm Can Help
Call us today for a free consultation. We will review the details of your matter carefully and confidentially. If there is a case, we will provide aggressive representation for all injuries caused by the negligence of the landlord or property owner.
