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 Visalia 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 attorney 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 the negligence of a landlord or a property management company, it’s a wise idea to speak to a lawyer about your options. After an injury like a broken hip or head trauma, your care could go far beyond a quick trip to a Visalia emergency room.
With rising medical expenses, insurance providers go on the defensive. They’ll attempt to blame you for your fall or try to downplay your injury. A Visalia slip-and-fall lawyer may be a necessary precaution to force a landlord and an insurance company to accept full responsibility. Your lawyer gathers powerful evidence and then demands the maximum in compensation available for your injury.
Who Can I Sue If I’m Hurt in My Apartment Complex?
You may live in a Visalia apartment community and you probably work hard to pay your rent each month. If you don’t pay on time, you know your landlord will be bugging you, but what about your landlord’s responsibility to you?
Under California’s premises liability laws, property management companies and landlords 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 putting off important refurbishment on decks, railings, and stairwells. But property staff must also monitor for the obstacles other residents leave behind. Someone may drop a soda bottle 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 be on the look out for any potential dangers to your family’s safety. When they get careless and let safety precautions slide, an apartment complex owner can be liable for the harm those hazards cause.
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. Rain puddles and spilled drinks are allowed to sit where people walk in breezeways and lobbies, creating fall risks.
- 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. Owners should also warn residents of an increased crime risk in the area. 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 property management company’s liability insurance provider won’t likely give up and admit fault right away. They’ll try to get a discount on what they must pay by casting doubt on your injury claim or finding ways to try to blame you for what happened. Your Maison Law attorney fights to make sure your recovery costs don’t come out of your pocket.
How Much Is My Apartment Injury Case Worth?
Determining what you might secure in an accident settlement check will be difficult until your lawyer has had a chance to hear about what happened and to investigate your landlord. Your take-home compensation will depend on how long your injury affects your life.
Everyone heals at a different pace and some injuries never heal. Your attorney will be estimating the effect your injury could have on your quality of life in the years to come. If you suffer a long-term injury or a permanent disability, an insurer will need to provide enough in support to cover every hardship you’ll face down the road.
These are some of the biggest factors that will decide how much you should demand from an insurance company:
- Hospital and medical expenses.
- Costs associated with a permanent physical disability such as medical equipment and renovations at home and work. Potential costs for education to learn a new career.
- Emotional and physical distress. The physical pain you experience and the anxiety and depression that may follow a traumatic incident and a long recovery.
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
- Travel expenses. Money spent getting to appointments and seeing specialists that may be far away. These costs can be major when victims are on crutches or in wheelchairs and can’t drive.
- Income and benefits the victim has forfeited while missing work.
- Damage to personal items.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my family ask for support if a loved one is killed in a fatal apartment accident?
Yes. California allows families who lose a loved one to a negligent mistake to file a wrongful death claim against a property owner. Families would ask for help with burial costs and in paying ambulance fees. A Visalia wrongful death lawyer also seeks support for the family to protect them in the future when the victim will no longer be able to provide a weekly paycheck.
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 an apartment accident 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 Visalia Apartment Accident 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 Visalia Apartment Accident 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.
