You live in an apartment building or a rental — and you get injured in an accident while home. Does this mean that your landlord is liable for your injuries?
Cases like this can get complex. It’s important to know exactly what you should expect from your landlord and how you can hold them responsible for failing to meet those expectations.
Was your injury due to some kind of property neglect?
Landlords have an obligation to properly maintain their buildings. They are responsible for common areas, which could include interior and exterior staircases, sidewalks, lobbies, meeting rooms, and much more. They also have to make proper repairs in the apartments when they know about dangerous issues or should have known about those issues.
For instance, maybe you got injured in a common area, like a stairwell in the middle of your apartment building. You tripped and fell on a poorly-maintained step. When you reached for the banister, you found that it was broken, and there was no way to stop your fall. Since these probably weren’t brand-new issues with the stairwell, your landlord should have known about the danger and taken steps to warn tenants of the problem until repairs were made.
Can you seek damages?
In short, it’s true that accidents happen. When that accident is made worse by a negligent landlord — one who never repaired a broken banister, for instance — then they may be liable for the injuries.
Your fall could result in serious injuries and all of the high medical bills that come with them. You may also miss time at work and have other such costs. Be sure you know how you can seek compensation to help you cover these unexpected costs.
