Whether you plan to stay for 12 months or 12 years, your apartment is your home, and you should feel safe there. One of the major perks of renting an apartment is that maintenance is generally included in your lease. However, accidents can happen in apartment complexes if the property is not kept up properly. Given that the landlord or property manager is usually responsible for maintenance and repairs, you may be wondering whether you can sue them in the event of an apartment accident in Texas.
What Apartment Accidents Qualify for Compensation in Texas?
You may be able to take legal action in Texas if you are injured in an apartment accident due to a hazard that your landlord or property manager failed to resolve or warn you about. For example, if you live in an apartment complex with a walkway that is uneven and missing large chunks of concrete, and you trip or slip and fall on the walkway and break your arm, the landlord may be responsible if they were aware of the hazard and failed to make the necessary repairs in a timely manner. In such a case, you may be able to sue your landlord for an apartment accident.
How Do You Sue a Landlord for a Texas Apartment Accident?
Anyone injured in an apartment accident in Texas can bring a claim against their landlord through a premises liability claim, which is a type of personal injury claim. Premises liability law deals with property owners (landlords) and their responsibility to protect their tenants from foreseeable harm. You may be able to file a premises liability claim against a negligent landlord or property management company when you are injured as a result of their failure to remedy or post visible and obvious warnings about a known hazardous condition in an apartment complex.
Common Texas Apartment Accidents
With a large number of people living in close proximity and a landlord or property management company overseeing maintenance, it can sometimes be hard to tell who is responsible for an accident. Here are a few common apartment accidents in Texas and how a landlord’s negligence may contribute to them:
Balcony Rail Failures
Maintaining balconies is extremely important at apartment complexes to prevent a balcony railing collapse. Unfortunately, older complexes are often allowed to wither and decay as time goes on or the neighborhood changes and rent rates drop. As a result, apartments can become dilapidated and uncared for. Wood rot may allow screws and plates to tear away from the walls and suddenly the safety rail becomes a hidden danger when someone goes to lean on it.
Apartment Fires
Fires in apartment buildings can be especially devastating due to the possibility of damage to multiple units. Faulty wiring can cause a fire, and improperly installed smoke alarms may fail to warn residents of the danger. If the landlord fails to maintain required smoke detectors that contribute to someone’s injury or death or fails to maintain the electrical wiring up to code, you can sue your landlord for an apartment fire that was contributed to by the landlord’s negligence.
Fall Hazards Outside Apartments
Landlords are generally responsible for keeping their property clear of fall hazards so that you have safe access to your apartment. This can include repairing or warning you of uneven and damaged walkways and taking reasonable steps to replace lighting in common stairways and walkways after being notified it is out. However, in Texas, a landlord is generally not responsible for natural accumulations of precipitation such as ice, snow, sleet, or water on the property.
Unsafe Conditions Making an Apartment Uninhabitable
There is an implied warranty of habitability in every property rental contract. If the property is in such a state of disrepair that the ceiling collapses or the floor caves in, you may not only have a claim for injuries caused thereby but also a claim for your rent paid and/or the cost of alternate living accommodations while the property is uninhabitable.
Faulty or Dangerous Exercise Facilities
Exercise rooms are a common amenity in apartments these days. These spaces are considered common areas–which means that are under the control of the apartment complex. When they open up the facilities to the public, they have a duty to make them safe. The also have a duty to make sure the equipment itself is safe. You may have a legal right to sue for injuries from exercise equipment. However, beware that they can and often do discharge this duty to adults by way of a waiver and release in the lease contract. They cannot force minors to waive their rights by having the parent sign a pre-injury release, however, they may force a parent to indemnify them. Always read your lease carefully before signing it.
Unprotected Swimming Pools
There are several potential lawsuits that may arise from failure to maintain the pool at an apartment. Ultimately, legal responsibility for swimming pool accidents rests on the apartment complex when the the pool and/or safety equipment is left in a state of disrepair. Some examples of this include:
- Unrepaired Pool Gates. The Texas Administrative Code requires that all swimming pools must have a four-foot-tall fence around them with a self-closing, self-latching gate to prevent small children from accessing the pool unattended. If the landlord fails to take reasonable steps to repair a broken latch resulting in a drowning accident this may result in landlord liability.
- Defective Drains. Certain drains have been prohibited due to their unsafe design. Even permissible drains may become a drowning hazard if not kept in a safe state of repair.
- Broken Lights. Pool lights can be an electrocution hazard when not kept in a safe state of repair.
- Chemical Exposures. Pools must be treated from time to time with chemicals During treatment times, the pool is closed down to allow the dissipation of the chemicals. Adding too much of certain chemicals or allowing swimmers back in the water too soon may result in chemical burns or death due to toxic exposure.
Inadequate Apartment Security
Though crime can happen anywhere, landlords have a responsibility to take appropriate measures to keep residents safe. Failure to implement reasonable safety measures, or allowing equipment like cameras or lights to remain broken for extended periods of time, may open a landlord or property manager up to liability. Reasonable safety precautions may vary from area to area but can include adding lights in the parking lot and along walkways, installing security cameras, and hiring security to patrol the property.
Ask Our Attorneys About Suing a Landlord for a Texas Apartment Accident
Have you suffered an injury due to negligence at your apartment building or complex? Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. may be able to help you recover compensation for your losses. Give us a call today to learn more about suing a landlord for an apartment accident in Texas.
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