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Had to walk 39 floors of stairs due to broken elevator

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Hello1234567

New member
Is this a possible case? Stayed at an air bnb at an apartment complex. Complex has about 45 floors with 4 elevators. We had a strict check out time at 11am. Apartment was on the 39th floor. When we were about to leave we found out all the elevators were not working after waiting for 30 minutes. I had an appointment to be somewhere at 2:00PM. With my luggage, I had to go down 39 flights of stairs since they had no estimate on when the elevators would be fixed. 24 hours later, it seems like I have a severe case of DOMS (muscle stiffness). I can barely walk, I’m in a lot of pain, and it has inhibited my productivity at work. Any advice would be much appreciated!
 


Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Is this a possible case?
In what state did this occur? This site only covers law in the U.S. and in the U.S. the laws vary by state. That said, if this is in the U.S. you have two challenges here. First, whomever is responsible for the elevators must have been negligent in some way for there to be any liability. So a key question here is why were none of the elevators working? And how long were the elevators out of commission?

The second issue here is potential contributory negligence on your part. You made the choice to go down the stairs instead of waiting, and you decided how you'd go down them and how you'd drag the luggage with you. If it was your choices in how you did this that created the problem you have then that might reduce or eliminate any liability of the person/entity in charge of the elevators.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Is this a possible case? Stayed at an air bnb at an apartment complex. Complex has about 45 floors with 4 elevators. We had a strict check out time at 11am. Apartment was on the 39th floor. When we were about to leave we found out all the elevators were not working after waiting for 30 minutes. I had an appointment to be somewhere at 2:00PM. With my luggage, I had to go down 39 flights of stairs since they had no estimate on when the elevators would be fixed. 24 hours later, it seems like I have a severe case of DOMS (muscle stiffness). I can barely walk, I’m in a lot of pain, and it has inhibited my productivity at work. Any advice would be much appreciated!
What was the reason for the elevators being out of commission?

With all four elevators experiencing problems at the same time, this sounds like an electrical/power outage problem outside the control of the apartment complex and the owner of the Airbnb rental.

Your first task before considering any legal action is to discover what caused the elevators to not work.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
I suggest you send the Airbnb owner a couple extra bucks. It sounds like you really needed the exercise.

If you’re really serious about your claim;

Your claim would have so little value it would cost you more to hire an attorney than what you might win. No attorney would take this on a contingency.

The muscle soreness is short lived (about 3 days max generally) and there are no long term issues. It’s sore muscles for Pete’s sake. Take a few nsaids and a hot shower and worry about more important things in life.
 

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