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When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Southeast Texas, and parts of Louisiana, it got everyone thinking about storm-related injuries. As a renter, if you’re injured in your building during a storm, is the landlord liable for your storm injury?
Let’s first look at New York’s premises liability law in order to answer that question.
Premises liability law says that if you are injured while you are lawfully on someone else’s property, the owner of the property is liable for your injuries – as long as your injuries were caused by the owner’s negligence.
If you are renting an apartment, the landlord or property manager is responsible for maintaining the building and the property. If the landlord is negligent in that responsibility and you’re injured as a result, then the landlord is liable.
For example, suppose one of the steps in your building’s stairway is broken. You trip on the step and break your arm during the fall. The landlord can potentially be responsible for your injuries.
If you are injured inside of your apartment instead of the building’s communal areas, you will need to determine if you or your landlord is responsible for that maintenance.
In the event that you’re injured in your apartment building during a storm, the same elements above still apply.
If tenants are injured in a storm due to building damage related to negligence, the landlord could be held liable. They’re liable as long as you can show they were negligent maintaining the building and that negligence caused your injury.
Regardless of the situation, you have rights as a tenant, and a landlord owes their tenants a reasonable standard of care. In order to determine if your landlord has acted reasonably, ask yourself these two questions:
If your answer to the last question is yes, then you don’t have a lawsuit on your hands. If the answer to that last question, however, is no, then you should reach out to an experienced New York personal injury attorney.
A knowledgeable personal injury attorney will listen to the details of your claim and investigate your case. The attorney can determine whether your landlord is liable for your injuries and if you’re entitled to compensation. Depending on the severity of your injury, you might be able to collect damages. Damages can cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.
So, if you’re injured the next time a big storm hits New York because someone else acts irresponsibly, be prepared to contact a lawyer.