Category: Landlord Liability

Landlord Liability, Slip and fall accident, Trip and Fall Accidents

Worn Steps

“I fell inside my building on interior stairs while I was walking to my apartment. There was nothing on the stairs, but the building is old and the steps are quite worn. Do I have a case?”

You might have a case, depending upon how worn are the steps and and if that wear created a hazzardous condition on which to walk.  This is the type of defect of which our office would make a personal inspection and possibly hire an expert to examine the steps and take measurements.

Even though you may have walked up these stairs many hundreds or thousands of times, if the stairs are in such a condition so as to create a hazardous condition, then your landlord would be responsible for maintaining the stairs in a safe and passable condition.  Whatever your injuries are, we advise all of clients to go to the doctor and follow your trusted physician’s instructions so you can recover from your injuries.

 

Landlord Liability, Slip and fall accident, Trip and Fall Accidents

Landlord Liability

“I fell inside of my own apartment. Can I sue my landlord?”

There is more information an attorney would need to know before he or she could really answer your question.  But my best answer is if you fell because of something you, as the tenant did, to create the condition which caused your fall, then the answer is no. However, if the the reason you fell is because of a maintenance issue the landlord is responsible for, then yes, you can sue your landlord.

To illustrate the first type of case — an accident caused by something you did — you would look at what you were doing at the time of the accident.  If you fell because you tripped on the cord to the vacuum cleaner when you were tidying up, then the landlord is not responsible. Similarly, if you fell on a wet floor because you were mopping your kitchen or bathroom floor, then you cannot sue your landlord. In both instances, you created the condition which caused your accident.

But if there is a leaky pipe in your your apartment that your landlord neglected to fix despite your repeated complaints, then you can sue your landlord. Similarly, if your landlord undertakes repairs in your apartment, but creates a hazardous condition, like construction debris or tools on the floor and someone trips and falls on one of the hazards, the the landlord is liable.