How might a landlord be responsible for your injuries in Boynton Beach, Florida?

As a tenant, you can file a personal injury suit against your landlord if you sustain an injury on their property due to their inaction or action, foreseeably and naturally leading to that injury. However, you need to know that your landlord is not necessarily liable for every injury you sustain in their rental. They will only be responsible if their carelessness is what contributed to or caused your injury.

If you live in Florida, you should know that there is a limited number of situations where your landlord will be held liable if you sustain injuries on their property. This copy will highlight some of the instances when your landlord can be held responsible for your injuries. Remember that if you sustain injuries in Boynton Beach Florida, you will need a Boynton Beach injury lawyer. A lawyer will help you determine whether or not you should file a personal injury suit.

When Your Landlord is Negligent

Suppose you sustain injuries in Boynton Beach Florida and want to file a personal injury lawsuit. You first need to determine whether your injuries are a result of your landlord’s negligence. They are liable if their behavior is the cause of your injury, especially if the proximate cause is something that anyone can foresee will cause harm. Below are a few factors that the court will go over to determine whether or not your landlord is negligent.

Failure to take steps to prevent the accident

Your landlord needs to take reasonable care of their property to ensure tenants are prevented from sustaining injuries. For instance, if a broken step has been in the building for months and the landlord does not fix it, they will likely be liable if anyone sustains an injury. However, note that if you do not notify your landlord about the broken step or they routinely check on the building, even when you hire a Boynton Beach injury lawyer, the landlord may be able to successfully argue that they are not liable for your injury.

Risk of a serious injury

Your landlord will likely be held liable if they were aware that their property posed the risk of a severe injury and did nothing to repair it or warn you of the danger. For instance, if a raised deck has rotten support beams, they should at least mark it ‘off limits,’ replace it or remove it since it will lead to catastrophic injuries if it collapses.

Feasibility and cost of preventing danger

If you sustain injuries and file an injury suit against your landlord. If a simple and fairly priced precaution could have prevented the accident, but your landlord did not take it, the courts will find them liable for negligence and hold them responsible for the injuries you sustained.

An accident’s foreseeability

A landlord can only be held accountable for the injuries you sustain if they foresaw that a specific thing like a loose handrail could cause an accident, and they did nothing about it. However, note that your landlord will not be held responsible for freak accidents. Your landlord is also supposed to inform you if their building has hidden or unobvious dangerous conditions. This may include things like uneven floors. Otherwise, they will be held responsible for your injuries.

When they have control over a dangerous condition

Landlords are legally obligated to carry out maintenance and repair of anything that may cause an injury to their tenants. Therefore, failure to do so makes them responsible for the injuries you sustain on the property as a result of improper maintenance or repair. If you sustain an injury from falling down a broken stair in a common area that your landlord should maintain, you can contact a Boynton Beach injury lawyer to help you file a suit since your landlord will be held liable.

Cause of injury

You will have to prove that the injuries you sustained are a result of your landlord’s carelessness. Sometimes it may be easy to verify that the landlord’s actions or inactions resulted in your injury in some cases. For instance, if you slip and break your leg on a floor that is freshly waxed. However, proving that your landlord is responsible for your injury is not always straightforward.

When Your Landlord is Liable for Criminal Acts

Generally, your landlord cannot be held responsible for injuries you sustain caused by a third party. However, suppose your landlord is aware of criminal activities, but they do not take any reasonable measures to protect you from harm. In that case, they may be held responsible if you sustain injuries.

For instance, say there has been a series of break-ins, and you request your landlord to have stronger locks on the door, but they refuse. If there is a burglary in the future and you are injured as a result, if having new locks installed could have prevented this, the court can hold your landlord partly responsible for your injuries. Your landlord can also be held liable for not taking the appropriate measures to stop criminal activities from happening, fully knowing that they could lead to injuries.

When They Do Not Offer a Habitable and Fit Rental

The law requires your landlord to provide you and other tenants with a livable rental. Essentially, this means that you have the right to be provided with living conditions that meet basic safety and health standards.

This means that if your landlord does not follow the state’s basic safety and health standards, they can be held responsible for any injuries you sustain as a result.

Suppose you sustain an injury on such a rental property and want to file a personal injury suit. You will have to prove that your landlord has violated the implied habitability warranty. You will also have to demonstrate that your injuries are a result of inferior living conditions.

Negligence Per Se

When a landlord violates specific laws, the court usually concludes that they are negligent. In simple terms, this means that as a tenant, when you sustain injuries, you do not have to prove that your landlord’s actions were unreasonable if they have broken the law. When you file a suit under negligence per se, you will have to prove that:

• Your landlord violated the law. Remember that this law should relate to safety, for instance, negligent security or municipal health ordinance.
• The violation of the law by your landlord caused your injuries either indirectly or directly.
• The law broken would have protected you from the injuries you sustained
• This law is supposed to protect you or the general public from specific danger

It would help to familiarize yourself with the laws your city or state has directly passed relating to your safety and health as a tenant in a rental property. It is also essential to work with a Boynton Beach injury lawyer because they know all the laws and are experienced in similar cases. It is pretty common for the courts to find your landlord negligent per se.

Damages You Can Receive from Your Landlord

Listed below are some of the damages you may be awarded if you sustain injuries in Boynton Beach Florida, and you can prove that your landlord is responsible.

• Personal property damage
• Emotional distress
• Disability
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages
• Medical bills

When to Hire a Boynton Beach Injury Lawyer

Our lawyers at Bodden & Bennet Law Group know everything there is to know about personal injury and premises liability law. Therefore, if you or a loved one sustains an injury on a rental property due to negligence from the landlord, contact us and let us help you with your case.