Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Injured on stairway in my apartment complex
I was injured on the stairway leading to my apartment. The fall resulted in the loss of 4 front teeth, multiple bruised on my abdomen, legs, and hands, as well as a badly sprained ankle.
My landlord refuses to pay for the medical bills. The apartment complex is in San Jose California. What are my rights as a tennant in this matter?
Thanks for your help.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Injured on stairway in my apartment complex
First, demand in writing to have your landlord pay your medical bills. Second, hire a lawyer to sue the landlord, as their refusal to pay your bills demonstrates their non-cooperative attitude. The sooner you hire a lawyer, the better. If you have any insurance yourself, you may wish to get them involved, since your bills seem like they may reach into the thousands. Good luck to you.
Re: Injured on stairway in my apartment complex
They are only responsible if the condition was inherently dangerous or they did something wrong. If they had "med Pay" coverage, that would pay your medical bills.
JOEL SELIK
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Re: Injured on stairway in my apartment complex
If landlord did something wrong or condition is inherently dangerous that results in harm/injury, they may have responsibility. Otherwise, likely not.
Re: Injured on stairway in my apartment complex
Whether the landlord is liable depends upon what caused you to fall. If the stairs were designed and/or built in a dangerous manner, you might have very strong claims against the landlord, the builder and/or the architect. If the stairs themselves were not dangerous but the landlord allowed them to become dangerous (perhaps by not maintaining them properly, or by failing to remove debris) then your claim would be against the landlord alone.
All of this presumes that the problems I mentioned caused your fall. If you simply tripped over your own shoelaces you probably can't blame anyone else. If you were tripped or pushed, then your claim would be against the person who did this.
You need to sit down with a lawyer and discuss the specifics of your case. Deciding whether and whom you should sue will depend upon many factors, and this web site is not equipped to handle so many details.