"I am renting my home. Last month, my neighbor fell on my sidewalk and was injured, but I am being sued for it. My landlord refused to fix the sidewalk that caused the fall, so shouldn't he or she bear the responsibility? Shouldn't the neighbor sue him instead of me since I don't even own the place?"
Unfortunately, many U.S. renters do, since so many are sued for something that happened within their rented homes or on the rented common property, whether they own it or not. While a landlord has liability insurance to cover any suit brought against him or her to cover injuries and other damages, called Tenant Landlord Insurance, the issue then becomes how can the renter prove that the landlord is at fault and that the landlord's negligence caused the issue so the renter is not responsible?
When brought to court, a landlord is typically found responsible if the circumstances meet the following requirements:
If the landlord is required by the lease or local laws to maintain the sidewalk. In most states, the landlord is required to maintain common areas, even if it is written into a lease that the renter is responsible for them because state and local laws trump a lease. In fact, in some states, it is illegal to require that the tenant be responsible for common areas such as a sidewalk.If the landlord knew about the sidewalk needed repairs and failed to make them, or if the repairs needed would have been simple to fix, and the lack of proper repairs caused the injury, then the landlord is responsible, not the renter. For example, if the renter alerted the landlord that the sidewalk needed repairs, but the landlord refused or simply neglected to make them, and days or weeks passed, the landlord is responsible.
If the landlord neglected to take precautions to prevent injury knowing that an accident or injury was probably, and might happen, then the landlord is responsible. For example, if the landlord knew the sidewalk needed repairs and knew it could cause an injury, but then neglected to put up a warning sign, or otherwise warn visitors to the property or people walking on the sidewalk, and someone fell and was hurt, the landlord is responsible.
If the person who fell or was otherwise injured is genuinely hurt and not faking it, and the visitor or tenant can prove it was the sidewalk that caused his or her to fall, and all other conditions are proven, the landlord is responsible.
If you are a tenant, and you are being sued for someone's injured they acquired on your sidewalk, or other area in the home, then you may in fact have to appear as a defendant to prove that you are not responsible for the fall and resulting injury. However, if you can prove that the landlord is responsible as per the conditions listed, then the case will most likely be dismissed and the injured person would sue the landlord and his or her insurance company to recoup his or her monetary losses.
Mary Sharp is a partner with Griffith, Sadler and Sharp PA, who practices in the areas of automobile liability, premises liability, products liability, general tort liability, construction litigation and insurance disputes. For more information on Mary Sharp Beaufort, visit Griffith, Sadler and Sharp, PA.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق