When you rent a home from someone else, you expect it to be safe for yourself, your family, and your visitors. However, that's not always the case. If you or a visitor has been injured due to a landlord's negligence, you may be able to sue for premises liability. The following information can be helpful for determining what negligence is and what steps you can take next.

 

Knowledge of Hidden Dangers

Any personal injury lawyer in Boston will tell you that negligence doesn't have to be intentional. It can be described as a failure to act. As a result, even having knowledge of hidden dangers can make a landlord negligent. For example, if a home has an uneven floor that a tenant trips and injures themselves on, this may be classed as negligence in the eyes of the law. The landlord may have knowledge of its unevenness but failed to rectify the problem.

 

Control Over Dangers

Landlords are legally responsible for repairing anything that could cause injuries, such as broken and sharp flooring tiles or a faulty light that makes it hard to identify hazards and obstacles in certain areas of the home. Failure to act over controllable dangers may point to landlord negligence.

 

High Risk of Serious Injury

Wear and tear is all part of homeownership. Things wear out over time and require eventual replacement. However, it's a landlord's job to identify anything that may have a high risk of serious injury and take action.

They must replace, repair, or block off anything that might lead to a tenant or visitor being injured, such as a rotten floorboard after water damage or a damaged wall socket. Hazards such as these pose a high injury risk, which means they must be taken seriously.

 

Danger Reduction Feasibility

Some property damage can be costly to repair, such as a damaged deck or a faulty, empty swimming pool in the backyard. As such hazards may take time to remedy, landlords can put temporary measures in place to keep their tenants safe while also alerting them to the hazards.

However, if a potentially dangerous hazard can be made safer with small, inexpensive precautions and isn't, a landlord may be found liable. For example, a guard rail around a ramp, a strip of bright paint to identify a change in terrain, or a fence around a swimming pool can be all it takes to make hazards known and keep tenants safe. Their inexpensive nature makes them feasible changes for tenant safety.

 

How to Sue for Negligence

If you believe a landlord's negligence led to your injury, you can seek professional advice. A personal injury lawyer with experience in landlord negligence can review your case and see if you're eligible for a personal injury claim. You may then be able to request compensation for medical costs, time off work, medical-related travel, and more.

Most landlords don't intentionally set out to hurt their tenants. However, through inaction, inattention, and property neglect, the worst can happen. If you've found yourself in this situation, talking to a personal injury lawyer may help you decide what you can do next.