Maison Law is committed to helping victims hurt in falls and other accidents in their apartment communities. When an accident is caused by a landlord’s negligence, our Bakersfield lawyers fight to hold them accountable. We secure the maximum in compensation to help victims recover and rebuild their lives. Contact a skilled Slip-And-Fall Lawyer and schedule a free consultation. It’s a no-risk way to determine what your injury is worth and how to hold a negligent property owner responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer After an Accident at My Apartment Complex?
If you are seriously hurt in an accident caused by a property management company employee or another tenant, it’s a wise idea to speak to a lawyer about your options. After an injury like a fractured bone or a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), your care could go far beyond a quick trip to a Bakersfield emergency room. These rising costs should never be your responsibility. A Bakersfield slip-and-fall lawyer may be a necessary precaution to ensure you secure the full support needed to pay for a full recovery.
When insurance providers for a property owner get involved, they’ll attempt to blame you for your fall or try to downplay your injury. If you don’t have a lawyer watching the insurer’s every move, insurers can get away with offering you far less than you need to get back on your feet. They may even try to reject your claim and leave you with nothing at all. Without a lawyer, part or all of your recovery costs could be bills you’d have to pay out of your own pocket.
Who Can I Sue If I’m Hurt in My Apartment Complex?
When you pay your rent each month, remember that your landlord owes you a safe place to stay as well as a place to live. Under California’s premises liability laws, property management companies must show their tenants a legal “duty of care.” It means owners and operators must do everything possible to monitor for potential dangers and to remove them in a reasonable amount of time.
They are responsible for the hazards they may cause, such as construction materials left along a walkway. But landlords and property staff must also monitor for the obstacles other residents leave behind. Someone may drop trash on steps going up to a second floor, creating a life-threatening fall hazard. Property owners must ensure these hazards are cleaned up or repaired before someone can come along and get hurt. Victims who are forced into accidents can seek support for their recovery costs.
A skilled premises liability lawyer can help you hold a landlord fully responsible for your hospital bills. This support should also cover any additional surgeries and physical therapy in the future if an injury flares back up or never fully heals.
What Type of Accident Dangers Is My Landlord Responsible For?
The property management company at your apartment complex should monitor for any potential dangers to your family’s safety.
These are just a few of the types of risks that a landlord can be liable for:
- Pool hazards like broken cement, drain problems, and lack of security and fencing to keep unattended children out. Drowning risks. Lifeguards may be required at some pools.
- Stairwell fall hazards. Loose railing, debris, or puddles left on steps. Steps that are rotting or crumbling. Elevator hazards.
- Slip-and-fall hazards. Puddles and spilled drinks allowed to sit where people walk creating fall risk.
- Trip-And-Fall hazards. Debris on sidewalks and left on walkways, potholes, broken sidewalks.
- Exposed wiring causing electrical hazards.
- Exposure to harmful substances like asbestos, lead, carbon monoxide, or concentrated pool chemicals.
- Defective products in the apartment. Appliances and heaters installed by your landlord or an installation crew that hurt you or your child. This could include a leaking water heater or a gas hook-up.
- Negligent security violations. Leaving parking lots and breezeways unlit, creating opportunities for criminals. A lack of security guards and functioning security cameras. Broken door locks. The victims of robbery and assault could file claims against a landlord.
- Dog bite hazards after a tenant is allowed to keep a dog that has a history of aggressiveness and/or biting. Hazards in apartment complex dog parks. The dog owner and the apartment complex may both be accountable.
- Fall-from-height hazards by unsafe windows in an apartment or unsafe railing along second floors.
A landlord’s liability insurance provider won’t automatically admit fault and offer support to you and your family while you heal. They’ll try to cast doubt on your injury claim and limit the support you receive. They may only pay for a visit to the emergency room and try to avoid accepting liability for the physical therapy and surgeries that could follow. Your Maison Law attorney fights to make sure these costs don’t come out of your pocket.
Common Injuries After an Accident at an Apartment Complex
A fall on a sidewalk or down a set of concrete stairs can do real damage to a victim’s joints, head, and brain. Another fear with a slip-and-fall injury that affects the victim’s mobility is the time they have to be off their feet. Victims can develop other major health issues while having to stay in a hospital bed or a wheelchair.
It’s why victims must seek to maximize their support now because if complications arise later, they won’t be able to ask a landlord for additional compensation.
These are some of the serious trip-and-fall injuries that Bakersfield emergency room doctors treat regularly:
- Broken Hands, and Arms – Trip-and-fall victims can try to cushion a fall by throwing their hands out. Fingers, wrists, and elbows might suffer fractures. Fingers and shoulders might also be dislocated.
- Hip Joint Fractures – Victims, especially senior adults, can damage one of the bones in the hip joint and experience long-term mobility problems and chronic pain.
- Knee Cap Fractures – A trip-and-fall could send someone down on cement to place their full weight on the knee joint. Victims might suffer other complications resulting from the time they are bedridden as a knee heals.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) – Victims suffer head trauma when hitting the floor or when striking something on the way down. A TBI might cause memory loss, and seizures, and leave someone with a concussion.
- Facial Fractures – Victims may fall directly on their faces, injuring noses, and enduring permanent scarring. Victims might break their jaws or injure an eye socket.
- Dental Injury – Victims who hit the floor with their chins or the side of their faces risk losing teeth and suffering a punctured lip.
- Burn Injuries – Residents can be burned by an open flame or an explosion due to a faulty gas line connection or a stove malfunction. Victims may be burned in a fire caused by an apartment staff member.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of things will earn me compensation after an apartment complex accident?
Your lawyer seeks support for every hardship you and your family have faced. That includes money to pay past and future medical bills. Reimbursement for your lost time at work. The physical pain and emotional trauma you endure should also factor into a settlement check.
How long do I have to file a slip-and-fall injury claim?
Two years. California law provides two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. But don’t wait years. Act quickly to give your lawyer access to fresh evidence and a chance at tracking down witnesses.
What if I can’t afford to pay a slip-and-fall lawyer?
You won’t need any upfront money to hire Maison Law. Our attorneys don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement an insurance company must pay you.
Contact a Bakersfield Apartment Complex Slip-And-Fall Attorney
After an injury, avoid talking to insurance providers or lawyers for the landlord before you’ve spoken with a Maison Law representative. You should never allow insurance adjusters to determine how much you should receive in a slip-and-fall settlement check.
Contact Maison Law’s Bakersfield Slip-And-Fall Lawyers for a free, no-obligation accident consultation. It’s a no-risk way to find out how much your injury is worth and what benefits you should demand. Allow your Maison Law attorney to handle the frustrating claims process while you focus on healing.
