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Proving landlord negligence

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steffb503

Member
Sounds like it's just a letter (that you received by mail or Fedex or other similar service). Correct? Or were you actually served with a summons and complaint? In other words, have you actually been sued, or has someone merely told you that someone intends to sue you? If it's just a letter, does it provide any detail, or does it just vaguely refer to an "injury as a result of an accident because of negligence."



It seems like a reasonable inference from what you've written here that you're a landlord and that one of your tenants is suing you. Is that correct?



I don't know what "type of proof" might mean, but "proof" isn't needed to file a lawsuit. I can't speak specifically about New York, but the general standard is that a lawyer should not file a lawsuit without evidence of all elements of all alleged causes of action or a reasonable belief that such evidence can be obtained through investigation and discovery.



Sure, but the failure to notify may or may not be legally relevant.

Assuming you have a good landlord's insurance package (or whatever insurance you have), you need to send what you've received to your insurer ASAP and ask that the insurer assign an attorney to represent you.
Yes we are the landlords and no no mention of an actual injury or accident.
 


quincy

Senior Member
No the letter simply said' " for personal injuries arising out of and as a result of an accident, which occurred on the above date at...., through your negligence."
Nothing like being vague. :)

You need to know more before you respond - unless you want to respond to the attorney with your own letter simply saying, “Huh?”
 

doucar

Junior Member
You need to inform your insurance company, because if you delay too long, they can deny coverage. They will provide you with an attorney at no cost to you, if it becomes necessary. This is why you have insurance.
 

quincy

Senior Member
One more question, can he sue for injuries if he has medicaid coverage, which covers his medical 100%?
You are in a weird position because you apparently have no idea what happened to your tenant, or why.

The possible good news for you is that if you were unaware of a hazardous condition because it was a “hidden” hazard and it was never brought to your attention that there was a problem, negligence could be more difficult to prove (depending, of course, on the actual cause of the accident that caused the injury).

Again, you should let your insurer handle it.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
You might want to consult with an attorney now.
Not exactly necessary at this point. Insurance will appoint an attorney in the event of a lawsuit.
Assuming you have a good landlord's insurance package (or whatever insurance you have), you need to send what you've received to your insurer ASAP
Absolutely.

ask that the insurer assign an attorney to represent you.
Won't happen until a lawsuit is filed. Claim reps are quite capable of handling attorneys during the initial claim process. We even oversee our attorneys during the lawsuit.

No the letter simply said' " for personal injuries arising out of and as a result of an accident, which occurred on the above date at...., through your negligence."
Your policy has a toll free number direct to the claims department. Call in the AM, report the letter
unless you want to respond to the attorney with your own letter simply saying, “Huh?”
I caution against that.
 

quincy

Senior Member
In that case, leave it all in the hands of your insurer.
Not exactly necessary at this point. Insurance will appoint an attorney in the event of a lawsuit. ...
I actually said that more than once. ;)
... You need to know more before you respond - unless you want to respond to the attorney with your own letter simply saying, “Huh?”
... I caution against that.
Why? Do attorneys have no sense of humor? ...
 

quincy

Senior Member
It bears repeating. ...
Then eight times should be enough to get the message across. :)

There will not be too much to tell the insurance agent at this point. All that is known is that an attorney’s letter states that some sort of injury supposedly occurred somehow apparently somewhere on steffb’s property and there is a belief that steffb is responsible.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
There will not be too much to tell the insurance agent at this point. All that is known is that an attorney’s letter states that some sort of injury supposedly occurred somehow apparently somewhere on steffb’s property and there is a belief that steffb is responsible.
That's all it takes to get the claim started. The insured reports the letter, gets a claim rep assigned and forwards the letter to the claim rep. The claim rep reads the letter and contacts the insured. "What do you know about this alleged injury?" "Nothing." "OK, I'll call the lawyer." Claim rep calls lawyer which was the purpose of the letter in the first place. To get a response from the insurance company. That's when the claim rep will find out what the allegations and injury are.

The lawyer is not going to file a lawsuit any time soon because he won't want to front the expense if he can wring a settlement out of the insurance company. Once his client is fully recovered (or reaches maximum medical improvement) the lawyer will present a demand for money. The claim rep then decides if his insured could be liable or not. If yes, makes a counter offer. If no, denies the claim. If a lawsuit ensues, a lawyer for the insurance company is engaged. Depending on the nature of the injuries it could be 6 months to 3 years (the NY SOL) until a lawsuit is filed. It's a misconception that lawsuits happen as soon as a claim is filed.
 

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