When you rent an apartment, you expect your landlord will perform his duties faithfully and efficiently. Fortunately, this is usually the case. However, occasionally, landlords are negligent and their tenants are injured as a result. If you find yourself in this situation, you most likely feel insulted and cheated and are therefore looking into recovering financial compensation. Do not suffer alone. Read on and contact a York County, PA premises liability attorney to learn more about apartment accidents and the personal injury claim process.
What are the primary causes of apartment accidents?
- Damaged flooring: Very often, torn carpeting, loose floorboards, and exposed nails cause some of the most gruesome apartment accidents. These may cause puncture wounds to you, or worse, your children, especially if they are of crawling age.
- Unstable balconies: There have been cases in the past where renters have had their balcony or deck collapse from under them. As you can imagine, the results are often severe.
- Insufficient lighting: When parking lots, walkways, entrances and exits are not sufficiently lit, people will sometimes not see a potential safety hazard. Insufficient lighting can cause people to trip or fall, often breaking bones or tearing ligaments.
- Defective smoke alarms: When a landlord fails to supply his tenants with working smoke alarms, one can only imagine the potential results.
- Electrical shocks: Occasionally, tenants may come upon an improperly grounded electrical socket. These may cause serious burns, electrocutions, or even lead to death.
- Inadequately maintained grounds following a snow/ice storm: Landlords are obligated to remove snow and ice within a reasonable amount of time following a snowstorm. When a tenant does not see black ice or another safety hazard, he or she may fall, potentially breaking bones or suffering head injuries as a result.
How do I recover compensation following a Pennsylvania apartment accident?
To recover the financial compensation you deserve, you must prove that you have been injured due to another party’s negligence, which in this case, is most likely your landlord. However, to prove your premises liability claim, you and your attorney will first have to gather evidence. Some of the evidence your attorney will help obtain may include medical documents, witness statements, security camera footage, pictures of the safety hazard that caused your injuries, and more. Do not wait. If you have been injured due to another party’s negligence, you must contact an experienced attorney as soon as you can.
