Liability for injuries that happen on rented property such as an apartment may lie with the tenant (your friend), the property owner (the landlord) or a management or maintenance company. The facts surrounding the injury play a major role in determining liability. Another is the contractual obligations existing between owner and tenant and owner and manager to maintain safe premises.
Tenant Responsibility
Once an apartment lease begins, the tenant is generally responsible for any hazards or dangerous conditions that arise inside the premises, including things like loose handrails and floorboards. So if the handrail wasn’t loose when your friend moved into the apartment but it became loose during the lease term, he or she would most likely bear responsibility for the dangerous condition that caused your fall injury.
While you may be concerned about seeking damages from a friend, keep in mind that he or she likely has renter’s insurance that will cover your losses. The money most likely won’t come out of your friend’s pocket.
Owner Responsibility
While a tenant bears most of the responsibility for the conditions inside of an apartment, there are exceptions.
One exception (which applies more to apartment complexes and multi-unit buildings than to single-family homes or apartments) is apartment common areas such as common stairways, halls, elevators, lobbies and parking lots. Under a landlord’s duty to safely maintain common areas, if your fall resulted from a loose handrail on a common stairway leading to your friend’s apartment, the landlord may be liable.
A landlord’s negligent concealment (covering-up) of a hazardous condition may also create liability. For example, if a landlord was aware of a loose handrail inside an apartment prior to renting the unit out but did nothing to repair it, any injuries that are caused by the loose handrail may be the landlord’s responsibility.
Landlords also have a duty to make timely repairs to property defects that they know about. For instance, if the tenant reports a loose handrail to the landlord, the landlord fails to repair the handrail within a reasonable amount of time, and somebody falls as a result of the loose handrail, the landlord’s failure to make repairs could make him or her liable.
Manager Responsibility
The owners of apartment complexes often contract out maintenance to a property-management company. This could lead to liability on the part of the management company in some cases.
For example, a property manager might be contractually obligated to fix a loose handrail on a common stairway. Or the property manager might be asked to fix a loose handrail inside an apartment based on the tenant’s request. Failure by the property manager to make proper repairs could result in the property manager being liable for injuries.
Get Help With Your Slip And Fall Case
A slip and fall accident that occurs at an apartment building may be the fault of one or more parties. To determine liability, the accident should be investigated and the contracts between the parties scrutinized.
These and other matters related to slip and fall cases should be discussed with an experienced New York City personal injury attorney. At David Resnick & Associates, P.C., our lawyers have helped clients recover significant money rewards when they were injured on somebody else’s property. Learn how we can help you. Call or contact us today to schedule a free consultation.