How to Prove My Landlord’s Responsibility for My Accident

Whether you rent a one-bedroom apartment or a 4,000 square foot house, your home is your castle. It’s the place to relax and enjoy your chosen lifestyle. That is, until something happens and you or a loved one is seriously injured on the very same property where you usually feel safe. If you’ve suffered due to your landlord’s negligence, Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP is here to help- contact us immediately.

You may be on good terms with your landlord, but if you are hurt because of their negligence, you have the right to pursue just compensation. The bottom line is this: if your injury occurred because your landlord failed to maintain the property where you reside, you may have grounds for a strong personal injury claim against them. Obtaining money to pay medical bills and other expenses related to your injuries will enable you to get your health and your lifestyle back on track.

Whose Negligence Caused Your Accident?

Just because someone owns the house or apartment where you live does not make them responsible for every injury you sustain while you are living there. To file a personal injury or premises liability lawsuit, your accident must be traceable to the landlord’s negligence, not to your carelessness.

Tenants have to take reasonable care of their rental property and pay their rent on time, while landlords must keep the premises safe. This means that while you can’t blame your landlord because you sustained third-degree burns after you removed a hot baking pan from the oven without wearing protective gloves, they are responsible if you fell down the crumbling steps to your apartment building and broke a hip.

Landlords Have the Responsibility to Keep Their Tenants Safe

Is your landlord responsible for your accident?

In Alabama, landlords have the broad responsibility to maintain their premises as it relates to their tenants’ health and safety needs. Following is a list of procedures that they must implement on a continual basis toward that aim:

• Fulfill the provisions of all residential codes affecting the health and well-being of their tenants
• Keep electrical, heating, plumbing, ventilating, sanitary systems, and air-conditioning units in working order
• Maintain appliances and elevators
• Supply and maintain containers for garbage and all waste materials related to the rental unit and provide for its removal on a timely basis
• Consistently maintain adequate quantities of running water, hot water, and appropriate levels of heat, except if an agreement exists for tenant responsibility for these things
• Sustain the safety and cleanliness of all interior and exterior common areas
• Perform all necessary repairs on a regular basis to maintain the premises

What Constitutes a Landlord’s Failure to Assure Tenant Safety?

Landlords may be liable for injury to a tenant or visitor to the property if they or their maintenance staff have failed to maintain it in a safe condition. These are some of the other conditions that may apply:

• The tenant must be seriously injured.
• The injury resulted because some portion of the property was not maintained.
• The landlord neglected to take precautions to avoid the accident.
• It would have been possible to repair or provide sufficient alerts about the unsafe conditions.

Proving Your Accident Was the Landlord’s Responsibility

Did you injure yourself due to your landlord’s negligence?

If you or a loved one has been injured at your rented home or apartment and you believe that your landlord could have prevented the accident, gather as much evidence as you can. Keep records of everything, so if you proceed to file a claim against your landlord, you have proof as to the exact cause of the mishap.

• Record the time, date, and exact location where the accident occurred.
• Take photos of the unsafe conditions that caused your accident. Be sure your photos are dated. You may also want to make copies of them.
• Let your landlord know immediately in writing that you have been injured. Provide a detailed narrative of where, when, and what happened.
• Describe the unsafe conditions that you believe caused your accident.
• Send the landlord copies of hospital and doctor’s visits notes, x-rays, reports, diagnoses, medical bills, and a record of lost wages due to the accident. A broad range of damages can add up quickly.
• If someone witnessed your accident, get a written statement from them about the incident.
• If you seek legal services in order to file a claim for your injuries, provide your lawyers with the same information.

Call the Personal Injury Attorneys at Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP for Help with Your Claim

If you feel that you need legal representation in order to prove your landlord’s responsibility in causing your injury, contact one of our experienced personal injury attorneys, not the Insurance company. Insurers want to settle claims quickly, leaving you without the funds you need to heal and get back to living your life. Contact Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP today at (205) 324-1212 to speak to a Birmingham personal injury lawyer. You can also chat or email us for a free consultation. And remember: there is no fee unless we get compensation for you.