Many apartment owners are better at collecting rent than they are in making needed repairs. If you are injured due to an unsafe property condition your landlord failed to correct, you may have the right to seek compensation for damages such as medical bills, lost time at work, and pain and suffering.
Georgia law holds property owners responsible for unsafe conditions that cause injuries to renters, guests and others who have a right to be on their property. This area of law is known as premises liability.
To recover compensation, you must show that negligence on the part of the apartment owner or manager caused your injury. Generally, this means that the apartment owner or manager was aware of the unsafe condition, or should have been aware, and did not take steps to correct it.
Examples of unsafe property conditions at apartment buildings include:
· Cracked or broken sidewalks
· Steps with missing or broken handrails
· Missing fire alarms
· Missing or nonfunctioning locks on windows and doors
· Negligent security
· Rotten wood on porches and decks
· Inadequate lighting
· Code violations
· Tripping hazards
· Slippery walking surfaces
It’s important to collect and preserve evidence of the unsafe condition. Insurance companies often refuse to pay damage claims even in cases where the apartment owner was slow in making needed repairs. It often takes an attorney’s help to make the insurance company pay.
The law firm of Isenberg & Hewitt, PC represents clients in the Atlanta Metro area who are injured due to unsafe property conditions.