Title: When a Landlord Can Be Held Liable for Tenant Injuries | AllLaw
Headings: When a Landlord Can Be Held Liable for Tenant Injuries
When a Landlord Can Be Held Liable for Tenant Injuries
In order for a tenant’s personal injury suit against a landlord to be successful, the tenant must show that the landlord’s action (or inaction) naturally and foreseeably caused the injury.
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Content: For example, it’s unlikely that disrepair such as peeling wallpaper would cause injury, but if it did, chances are that the landlord won’t be responsible. Cost and feasibility of reducing danger. Courts are likely to hold landlords responsible for tenant injuries when a simple, reasonably priced precaution could’ve eliminated the dangerous condition. For example, painting a bright stripe on an unexpected step up to a patio is a simple measure a landlord could take to prevent a tenant from tripping. A court could find that the landlord was negligent because the risk of harm so greatly outweighed the burden of mitigation. Likelihood of serious injury. When there’s a great risk of serious injury, it’s likely that a court would require a landlord to fix the situation as soon as possible, no matter the difficulty of the repair. For example, a raised deck with rotten support beams must be removed, replaced, or at least marked “off limits”—regardless of the cost—because the rot creates a high likelihood of collapse that could lead to catastrophic injuries. Failure to take reasonable steps to prevent accident. The law doesn’t require landlords to take drastic measures to protect tenants from every condition that possibly poses a risk.