Personal Injury on Rental Property: Who Pays the Bills?

Rental Property Personal Injury Dangers

Accidents on rental properties are a significant concern nationwide, especially considering the high number of renters in the U.S.

Landlords or property management companies are responsible for maintaining rental properties, and they could be held liable if someone is injured.

For instance:

• You might sustain injuries due to a hazard in your studio apartment or condo.
• Visiting friends at a rented home, you could get injured.
• An appliance provided by the landlord could malfunction, causing an electrocution injury.
• Poorly installed windows or loose balcony railings could lead to falls.
• Issues with smoke detectors or fire escapes could put your family or coworkers at risk of smoke inhalation or burns.
• Compromised structural integrity could result in someone falling through the floor.

There are plenty of hazards outside that are covered by rental property premises liability.

In any of these cases, injured victims have two years to file a premises liability claim against their landlord or property management company.

First Steps After an Accident on Rental Property

According to Justia, the top priority, especially if you have severe injuries, is to seek immediate medical attention.

Only after seeing a doctor should you consider taking legal action against the landlord [1].

Besides providing necessary treatment, seeing a doctor can help document the extent and seriousness of your injuries.

Your doctor’s report and possibly their testimony could be crucial in convincing an insurer or a jury about the compensation you require – Justia.

Follow your doctor’s treatment plan to avoid the landlord claiming your injuries worsened due to negligence.

Gather evidence to support your claim, including a timely account of the incident, financial records like medical bills and pay stubs, and photos or videos of the hazard.

Contact any potential witnesses and notify the landlord, asking them to notify their insurance provider.

If the landlord doesn’t respond, consider moving forward with a lawsuit, as most claims settle rather than go to trial.

Establishing the Landlord’s Negligence

Most often, a victim will argue that they were injured because the landlord was careless (or “negligent,” in legal terms).

This means that the landlord failed to act reasonably under the circumstances, and the accident was a foreseeable result.

Several factors influence the assessment of reasonableness and foreseeability, such as:

• whether the landlord controlled the location or object causing the accident
• the likelihood of the accident given the circumstances
• the potential for serious injury, and the cost to the landlord to reduce the accident risk.

Assuming these factors favor your case, you must prove the landlord did not take reasonable steps to prevent the accident, and that their failure caused it.

Other Grounds for Landlord Liability

A landlord often must comply with health or safety laws, and their failure to do so is typically considered automatically negligent, making them liable for any resulting accidents.

Failure to make necessary repairs or negligent repair work can lead to liability.

However, if you agree with the landlord to handle certain repairs yourself, they cannot be held responsible for any mistakes you make.

Sometimes, a serious defect can make a unit uninhabitable. If the landlord knew about this defect but failed to fix it, you can sue for violating the implied warranty of habitability.

Less commonly, a landlord may have acted recklessly or intentionally, leading to harm. This could result in punitive damages, an additional category of damages.

Whether conduct is reckless instead of merely negligent is highly fact-specific and unpredictable, as is the size of any punitive damages awarded.

Punitive damages are also available if a landlord acted intentionally, such as in cases involving assault, sexual harassment, or invasions of privacy causing emotional distress.

You can pursue these types of claims alongside a standard negligence claim. Victims are not restricted to one basis for liability.

Can I Sue My Landlord for Negligence?

In California, personal injury lawsuits can be filed against landlords, property management companies, and building owners for injuries caused by unsafe conditions on rental properties.

These lawsuits claim that landlords are financially responsible for injuries due to negligence, such as failing to maintain safe property conditions.

Examples include accidents caused by faulty railings, broken stairs, or uneven sidewalks.

California’s premises liability law holds landlords accountable for ensuring their properties are safe for tenants, guests, and workers, allowing injured individuals to seek compensation for their injuries

Homeowners Insurance Losses by Cause, 2017-2021

Source: Insurance Information Institute [2].

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FAQs

1. How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit for an injury on a rental property?

The statute of limitations varies by state and type of injury, typically ranging from one to several years from the date of the incident.

2. Can I sue if I was injured due to a crime on the rental property?

You may be able to sue the property owner if they failed to provide adequate security or take reasonable steps to prevent criminal activity that led to your injury.

3. Can guests or visitors file personal injury claims on rental properties?

Yes, guests or visitors injured on rental properties can file personal injury claims against the property owner or landlord for negligence.

4. What if the landlord claims I caused my own injury on the rental property?

If the landlord claims you caused your injury, gather evidence to support your case, such as witness statements, photos, and maintenance records, and consult with a lawyer.

Get a Free Lawsuit Evaluation With Our Lawyers

The Litigation Group at Schmidt & Clark, LLP is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focuses on the representation of plaintiffs in lawsuits.

We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new legal challenges in all 50 states.

If you or a loved one was involved with these matters, you should contact our law firm immediately for a free case evaluation. You may be entitled to a settlement by filing a suit and we can help.

References:

1. https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-tenants/injuries-on-the-premises/
2. https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-homeowners-and-renters-insurance