Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

The landlord would only be liable if it was negligent. Perhaps it was; you haven't said much about the circumstances. But even if the landlord was negligent, it sounds like your brother-in-law was negligent too. After all, people usually know it's very dangerous to enter a building while it's tented. If a jury finds that the landlord was, say, 20% at fault and your brother-in-law 80% at fault, then the landlord would only be liable for 20% of the damages that might otherwise have been awarded.

Did the landlord notify your brother that the building would be tented? Were there warning signs posted? Landlords and fumigators are usually diligent about these things, but there are exceptions. If they did what they were required to do but your brother-in-law entered anyway, then they probably aren't liable.

Your sister should meet with a lawyer in her area to discuss what happened in more detail. It may turn out that she has a good case.

It depends on the circumstances. My firm handles these types of cases all over the state of California. You can check out my website at www.thepersonalinjury.com . You may call me for a free consultation at 800-816-1529 x. 1.

I am sorry to hear of this tragic accident. Even with comparative negligence, the case has settlement value. A wrongful death suit measures damages by the lifetime of earnings that the victim would have had. Contact me directly.

No one in their right mind enters a termite tented building. They are covered with warning signs. Your brother was either mentally incompetent or suicidal. Either way the landlord is certainly not liable and the termite company isn't either. You can't sue someone for someone else's suicide unless they somehow helped it happen knowing of the potential result. And even then there is almost never liability.

It sounds like the LL might have your brother-in-law's estate on liability because it does sound, from what limited info I have, like your brother-in-law was negligent. However, even if the LL and termite company, as other attorneys mentioned, be held only 10% responsible under comparative negligence, that means the estate will recover 10% of a wrongful death, pain and suffering, etc. case. but get to several PI attorneys fast. In all states, you must watch the statutes of limitations ("SOL", and SOL means the same thing-miss the SOL and you are SOL). E.g. in NY, you can sue for wrongful death up to 2 years later, 3 years for his pain and suffering your sister's emotional distress (NY does not allow the latter-only state-unless maybe the ED caused physical harm) but there are much shorter Statutes of Limitations if it was a city or state owned property, etc. Most states, like Cal, have varying SOLs so the best thing is to have set up some appointments.