Injured in rented home, can I sue landlord?

[buggyboosmom]

What is the name of your state? WA

I moved into an older home in May 2002. Later that month, on Mother's Day, I fell down the stairs and broke my baby toe and hurt my neck and back. I went to the hospital and was treated for the fracture and what I was told was "strained muscle" pain. I informed the landlord of my injury and asked that a handrail be installed. That never happened, so I moved my room and my kids rooms down to the main floor. All the bedrooms in this house are located on the second floor so you can imagine how cramped and inconvenient that is. Within a few weeks of my fall my previously well-controlled migraine headaches spiraled out of control. By September 2002 I was unable to work any longer due to the migraine headaches, despite numerous attempts by doctors and specialists to regain control of them, including a 5-day hospitalization. Sometime in February 2003 I had occasion to go up the stairs for something and I fell again, this time breaking my big toe on the other foot and aggravating my neck and back pain. I went to the hospital again and was treated for the fracture and "strained muscle" pain, this time it took nearly 14 weeks for my toe to heal. I informed the landlord of my injury and repeated my request for a handrail, and was told I could do it myself if I wanted to. I don't have the money to hire someone to install it for me so I have had to wait. To this day I still do not have a handrail. I recently was referred to a chiropractic specialist for treatment of my neck and back injuries and was pleasantly surprised to find that a specific treatment is helping tremendously with my migraines. I had sustained an injury to my neck that was overlooked during the past ER visits. I am nearly back to my previous level of functioning and am looking for a new job. My doctor specifically said that based on my history and examination with x-rays that the falls I sustained are most probably the cause of my migraine exacerbation. He could not say with absolute certainty due to not having treated me prior to the falls. He did say that the fact that this treatment has restored my level of functioning when all other treatment failed supports his assertion. Aside from trying to get the city inspectors to come look at my house and strong-arm the landlord into bringing this place up to code, do I have a case against the landlord for my injuries?

 

[tammy8]

Usually a tenant is exluded under the landlord's liablity insurance on a rental property. I would also say the fact that you continued to live there for over a yr without the hand rail that you felt so necessary to have would also hurt your case if you decided to personally sue the landlord. As far as getting one yourself, they aren't that expensive.

 

[hexeliebe]

do I have a case against the landlord for my injuries?

No. And that's as simple as I can put it. Although your injury happened before you notified the landlord of the need for a handrail and one was not forthcoming, you had the option of moving when your request was not granted.

You have a responsibility to mitigate damages and by living in the home for more than one year, insurance or not, you did nothing to mitigate.

 

[buggyboosmom]

As soon as I fell the first time I stopped using the upstairs!

Thank you for your input. I don't have the money to put the handrail in myself, nor do I have the money/credit to move out. As soon as I knew the stairs were dangerous I stopped using them. I can see the reasoning if you want to say the second fall was my fault, ok. But I did not know that the city code required there to be a handrail on every stairway over 4 steps high, otherwise I would have made that a condition on my walkthrough.
So am I understanding you correctly that I have no recourse for injuring myself on dangerous stairs that are against housing code?
As landlords they are expected to have the knowledge and responsibility to keep the dwelling up to code. As a layperson I don't think the burden is on me to study the codes before I rent a place. It wasn't that easy to find the building codes for my city anyway, but I do have them now and my house is sure to be condemned or at least declared uninhabitable until repairs are made. In that case there are provisions in the law to recoup certain expenses from the landlords.
I have a hard time applying the logic that I should have known the stairs were dangerous and not used them. I also don't see how continuing to live in the house, while avoiding the use of the stairs, mitigates the circumstances.

 

[buggyboosmom]

clarification

I guess I mis-typed, I meant that isn't NOT using the stairs at all mitigating the damages?

Also, I am a single mom with no expertise in intalling items on obviously dangerous, steep, narrow stairs. It is also a fact that my work would be subject to landlord and city inspections, with it being my responsibility to bring it up to code if I decided to do it myself.

I am looking for a new place to live, preferably a one-story house. It just floors me that a landowner can maintain a substandard dwelling that is unsafe and not be made to take responsibility for the injuries resulting. I feel I lived up to my responsibility by moving all occupants of the upstairs downstairs to the main floor in an attempt to prevent future injuries.

 

[HomeGuru]

Re: As soon as I fell the first time I stopped using the upstairs!

Thank you for your input. I don't have the money to put the handrail in myself, nor do I have the money/credit to move out. As soon as I knew the stairs were dangerous I stopped using them. I can see the reasoning if you want to say the second fall was my fault, ok. But I did not know that the city code required there to be a handrail on every stairway over 4 steps high, otherwise I would have made that a condition on my walkthrough.
So am I understanding you correctly that I have no recourse for injuring myself on dangerous stairs that are against housing code?

**A: that is not true although the older home may have complied with building code at the time of construction and no handrail was required. Investigate further with the housing and building code officials and have them complete their inspections.
********
As landlords they are expected to have the knowledge and responsibility to keep the dwelling up to code. As a layperson I don't think the burden is on me to study the codes before I rent a place. It wasn't that easy to find the building codes for my city anyway, but I do have them now and my house is sure to be condemned or at least declared uninhabitable until repairs are made. In that case there are provisions in the law to recoup certain expenses from the landlords.
I have a hard time applying the logic that I should have known the stairs were dangerous and not used them. I also don't see how continuing to live in the house, while avoiding the use of the stairs, mitigates the circumstances.

**A: you have some valid arguments and should have hired a personal injury attorney.

 

[buggyboosmom]

I have a lawyer

Thanks for all the input. Even unfavorable responses make me think a little harder and justify my position. I have been speaking to a few lawyers and am interviewing them (although they think they are interviewing me) in the next few days. 2 of them have already said they want to take my case, so I am encouraged by that. And those 2 also are contigency fee based, so I am glad of that. Am I correct in my thinking that even if we lose I am liable for expenses the attorney incurs during the process? Is it standard practice to ask clients for payment of expenses as they come versus taking them out of the settlement? I want to make sure I am not wasting my time and money on an expensive investigation, although both of the lawyers said I definitely have a cause of action.
Thanks

 

[HomeGuru]

Re: I have a lawyer

Thanks for all the input. Even unfavorable responses make me think a little harder and justify my position. I have been speaking to a few lawyers and am interviewing them (although they think they are interviewing me) in the next few days. 2 of them have already said they want to take my case, so I am encouraged by that. And those 2 also are contigency fee based, so I am glad of that. Am I correct in my thinking that even if we lose I am liable for expenses the attorney incurs during the process? Is it standard practice to ask clients for payment of expenses as they come versus taking them out of the settlement? I want to make sure I am not wasting my time and money on an expensive investigation, although both of the lawyers said I definitely have a cause of action.
Thanks

**A: make sure that the contract states that the contingency fee basis for services is just that and even if you lose the case, no legal fees are due. You may want to have the expenses fronted by the attorney and paying out of your settlement proceeds.

 

[macktosh]

Re: clarification

Also, I am a single mom

Thats says it all, if you werent a single mom you would have plenty of money to buy things fix things and live in a better place.

But you chose to have a kid, with a man who probably isnt paying support, and you want us to feel sorry for you. I cant do it.

 

[tammy8]

I just got a home improvement stores ad today. Handrails are about $20. Please get some for your and your child's safety!

 

[stephenk]

are you saying the only time you used the stairs were the two occasions when you hurt yourself?

 

[buggyboosmom]

Macktosh, you should think before you speak/type.....

My 10yo son's father is dead. I don't appreciate your generalization about single moms. The only reason I am having the financial issues I am having right now is because of injuries I sustained when I fell. I have a college degree and am a professional.

Tammy, I appreciate your input, however I am not going to risk hurting myself more installing a handrail on dangerous stairs that I currently do not use. No one is allowed to use the stairs, not even my kids. I am also looking for a new place to live.

To the person who asked if the two times I fell are the only two times I used the stairs: That is a silly question, of course I used the stairs more frequently before I fell the first time. And I did have family and friends help move the bedrooms down to the main floor. I have once or twice been upstairs to retrieve something that was put up there for storage (before you start in on me for that, think of ladders and such that lead to attic's etc., it is not unreasonable to store things upstairs that are not in common use even if the stairs are dangerous) and when I fell in February it was from the landing that leads down into the kitchen, due to the lip and uneven stair height. I am having a friend come over and help bring everything down from upstairs to be put in storage at his house so I can completely block off the stairway.

 

[ShyCat]

Yeah, that's a much better solution than simply buying a handrail and installing it yourself. What were we thinking?

There are all kinds of people in the world, including those who prefer drama and chaos to any actual practical solution to a problem. Your choice, your consequences.

 

[buggyboosmom]

And what would you advise me when I hurt myself again....

You'd all tell me it was MY fault for messing around on stairs I KNEW were dangerous. Make up your minds. If I don't feel safe walking up and down the stairs normally, why would I put myself in the position of hurting my neck and back more by trying to install a handrail myself. At the point I am at now, I just want to get this landlord to take responsibility for the houses he has rented that are dangerous. I am not interested in getting alot of money or making headlines. Sometimes there are circumstances in life that you just have to work with, including physical and financial challenges. Yeah, I could probably convince my friends and family to take time out of their schedules to come install a handrail for me, but I am already looking for a new place to live and I am not about to move 3 bedrooms back upstairs just to have to move them again in a few months. I already told my lawyer that I only want the repairs to be made and medical bills covered and lost wages due to disability caused by the fall. I didn't say anything about pain and suffering. I will be able to put the landlord out of business so-to-speak by having the place condemned.
Did I mention I have peeling lead paint upstairs? I had a colleague of mine do some tests in the rooms upstairs and found out there is lead based paint on the walls. And I was not told of the hazards of lead-based paint or the possibility of it being there when I rented this house.
I was also told by the construction foreman building the house next door that the windows leading out of the sleeping rooms are too small to be fire exits (a small child may be able to climb out of them, but not even a teenager could) so I am not interested in making that upstairs accessible for anyone to live in.
I am trying to move out of here as soon as possible, and I am taking precautions to avoid further danger. I have tested the rooms downstairs for lead-based paint with a Home Depot test and found another room with it so I am restricting that room also.
Yes, it is a slumlord's house, and I would like to make the slumlord take responsibility for knowingly renting a dangerous place. It was not until I started investigating RECENTLY, that I understood just how bad this place really is. I am not staying here any longer than I have to. I have a call in to the health department to come out and do a full risk assessment, at which time I am sure I will have 48 hours to vacate, at the landlords expense.

 

[HomeGuru]

Ok, lady, whatever.