If you live in one of the 2,581,170 plus rental apartments in New York City, you probably have a landlord or building super that is responsible for the basic upkeep of the building, its grounds, its halls, and its stairways. If your landlord is good, you may never need a lawyer. However, some landlords do not maintain safe halls, stairs, or even fire escapes. These negligent landlords could be putting tenants and their guests at serious risk for injuries.
If you, a loved one, or a guest at your home was injured because of something your landlord should have fixed, you might have a personal injury case against the landlord. Even if your renters insurance covers some of the injuries, you might still be able to recover against the landlord directly. For a free consultation on your injury case, contact the Queens personal injury attorneys at Sullivan and Galleshaw today.
Premises Liability in Apartments
Whenever someone is a guest on someone else’s property, the property owner has a responsibility to keep the premises safe and prevent injuries on their property. That means cleaning up spills, removing dangerous tree roots, and keeping cables and wires from crossing places people might trip. In a store or a single house, it is relatively clear who is responsible: the owner of the property. That means the store owner and their employees have to keep businesses clear of dangers, and homeowners need to keep their house and surrounding property safe.
In an apartment, it is not always the owner who is in charge. Often, property management companies own large apartment buildings, and property managers handle the day to day running of the property, with maintenance teams who upkeep the facilities. Smaller apartments may be owned by individual landlords who perform the upkeep themselves, or hire janitors and maintenance workers or companies. Of course, each apartment is also rented by a family or individuals. This means that there are multiple parties who could be responsible for dangers. Luckily, the law has relatively clear rules to decide who is responsible for what upkeep.
Usually, everything inside the apartment unit is the renter’s responsibility, and everything outside the apartment (hallways, stairs, fire escapes, and the surrounding property or grounds) are all the owner’s responsibility. Your lease may give more specific details, and may actually put some responsibilities inside the apartment in the hands of the property owner. For instance, if your apartment does offer maintenance for things like sinks and plumbing, then sink and plumbing dangers may be their responsibility, not yours.
Even when maintenance workers or janitors perform services on hallways and other common areas, they are often ultimately the apartment owner’s responsibility. The staff that the apartment owner or landlord hires to clean and maintain the premises are “agents” of the landlord. That can often mean that, whether they are individual workers, on-staff workers, or part of a facilities maintenance company, they are acting on behalf of the landlord. A premises liability attorney may be able to hold the landlord responsible for the failures of their staff.
Proving Apartment Injury Cases
Whenever you are injured as a guest in an apartment because someone failed to keep the property safe, you might have an injury case. Additionally, if you are a tenant, and something your landlord was supposed to fix harms you, you might have a case. Often, tenants have liability insurance that might help pay for injuries that occur inside apartment units. Landlord liability insurance also exists to pay for injuries in the shared spaces.
To prove your injury case, you need to prove that the landlord or tenant who allowed you to be harmed owed you a duty. This often means that you need to show you were on the property legally – that you were a guest of someone who lives there, or you also live there. However, property owners and renters even owe a duty to trespassers in some situations.
Failing to keep the property safe for visitors is often a breach of this duty. When guests trip on unsafe grounds, fall down stairways in the dark, when floorboards or stair railings collapse, or when collapsing ceilings harm visitors, someone needs to be held responsible.
If you are able to, getting clear photos of the dangerous location is a good way to prove your case. Always make sure to seek medical treatment so you can get a record of your injuries. Also, before accepting any compensation, make sure to talk to a lawyer to know what your injury case is worth.
New York City Personal Injury Attorneys
When you are injured in a slip and fall, trip and fall, stairway injury, or any other accident at an apartment in New York City, you might have a case against the landlord. Whether you are a guest or a resident, talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer about your case. The lawyers at Sullivan and Galleshaw represent victims of personal injury and offer free consultations on new cases. Call (718) 843-0300 today for your free, confidential consultation.