As a tenant, you always expect that the
property you are occupying is safe from any hazardous conditions. As any
reasonable person should, it is your landlord’s responsibility to ensure that
the whole complex, including every room, is free from anything that could
potentially injure you and your co-tenants. Unfortunately, there have been
incidents of slip and fall inside and outside properties being occupied by
tenants, causing injuries to the latter. Even though your landlord, by law,
can’t and isn’t expected to protect you or your other tenants from such
situations, you are still entitled to your right to seek compensation from him
or her. In this regard, it is imperative that you devise a claim right away.
Basically, a slip and fall accident occurs
when you slipped or tripped and then fell forward or backward, causing you
injuries. Dangerous conditions that may cause you injuries include broken steps
on the staircase, slippery floors, lack of lighting on stairwells and
corridors, and other conditions brought about by inclement weather, such as
rain and ice. If you get injured in any of the abovementioned situations and
you believe your landlord failed to address the condition, then you may claim
for damages against him or her, demanding compensation for whatever losses you
incurred.
However, it is important that your claim
should establish that the landlord was indeed negligent. In this case, you need
to show in your claim these elements:
- The landlord has a duty of exercise reasonable care;
- The landlord failed to perform said duty;
- The failure to perform said duty resulted in you getting hurt.
- The accident resulted in physical and/or financial injuries.
More importantly, you must also establish in
your claim that your landlord must have knew the hazardous condition before
your accident, or the condition itself had been existing for a long time enough
for him or her to have known of it.
If you suffered an injury in a property as a
tenant, it is important that you seek medical attention immediately. Moreover,
since you are claiming for damages, you need to have legal assistance, and that
is through an expert personal injury lawyer in Los
Angeles. Basically, your legal counsel must have experience in handling
various personal injury claims, including those stemming from slip and fall
accidents. Your attorney will guide you throughout the process of the claim, in
which you may have the chance to recover compensation for the losses you
incurred, from medical costs, future medical care, to emotional damages. You
may likewise be advised to contact witnesses and assist you in gathering pieces
of evidence in order for your claim to be strengthened.
