Accidents in Your Apartment Building

Apartment buildings are the most common places to live in. They are practical and comfortable especially when you are living alone. Most working class individuals live in apartment buildings – for one, they find a building that is very near their place of work because it is cheaper than traveling to and from your house. Accidents can happen instantaneously and you’ll never know where it will have caught up with you.

 

Property and building owners are responsible it maintaining a safe and comfortable environment for their occupants. If you got involved or a loved one was injured as a result of an accident in the building’s premises, you can file for a personal injury compensation claim. A good and reputable personal injury lawyer can help you file a case in court.

 

You might experience any of the following that merits a legal case:

 

  • Tripping hazards like dangerous and deteriorating staircases
  • Wet and slippery floors and hallways
  • Cluttered walking areas
  • Falling objects
  • Defective elevators and other facilities
  • Faulty wirings resulting in short circuits
  • Building fires
  • Smoke detectors that are not functioning
  • Building code violations like the absence of emergency exits and lack of fire extinguishers

 

The list can go on, though, because of the many possibilities that might happen.

 

There are two important considerations when it comes to determining the cause and whose fault the accident was. One, building apartment owners have the legal responsibility of making sure that all tenants of all age groups. They have to ensure that the residents and the loved ones who come for a visit are safe and comfortable living in their building.

 

Two, there could also be a case where the tenant or their visitors are responsible for their own injuries. A perfect example: if the tenant descends the staircase using the handrail and gets injured in the process. Or, a tenant causes fire due to negligence such as leaving the flat iron on causing fire.

 

The argument would then be who is liable: the owner or the tenant. Each party can claim that the other caused the accidents. So if you are a tenant and you’re injured, you will have to make sure that you present all the necessary documents and proof that the building owners were at fault. This can be tricky, though. The building owner would definitely defend themselves. Establishing who is at fault will rely on the proof that will be submitted in court.

 

This is important to take note of: the property owner is responsible for the maintenance of the whole apartment building – from maintaining floors and keeping them clean, staircases that do not have sharp or rough edges, to ensuring that the building is safe and secure from burglars and other unscrupulous individuals. The tenant, on the other hand, will have to be responsible for whatever is inside their apartment.

 

The building owner or the landlord has to meet all the legal obligations that are set for them to follow. Just the same, tenants have to know their rights.

 

Apartment buildings are the most common places to live in. They are practical and comfortable especially when you are living alone. Most working class individuals live in apartment buildings – for one, they find a building that is very near their place of work because it is cheaper than traveling to and from your house. Accidents can happen instantaneously and you’ll never know where it will have caught up with you.

 

Property and building owners are responsible it maintaining a safe and comfortable environment for their occupants. If you got involved or a loved one was injured as a result of an accident in the building’s premises, you can file for a personal injury compensation claim. A good and reputable personal injury lawyer can help you file a case in court.

 

You might experience any of the following that merits a legal case:

 

  • Tripping hazards like dangerous and deteriorating staircases
  • Wet and slippery floors and hallways
  • Cluttered walking areas
  • Falling objects
  • Defective elevators and other facilities
  • Faulty wirings resulting in short circuits
  • Building fires
  • Smoke detectors that are not functioning
  • Building code violations like the absence of emergency exits and lack of fire extinguishers

 

The list can go on, though, because of the many possibilities that might happen.

 

There are two important considerations when it comes to determining the cause and whose fault the accident was. One, building apartment owners have the legal responsibility of making sure that all tenants of all age groups. They have to ensure that the residents and the loved ones who come for a visit are safe and comfortable living in their building.

 

Two, there could also be a case where the tenant or their visitors are responsible for their own injuries. A perfect example: if the tenant descends the staircase using the handrail and gets injured in the process. Or, a tenant causes fire due to negligence such as leaving the flat iron on causing fire.

 

The argument would then be who is liable: the owner or the tenant. Each party can claim that the other caused the accidents. So if you are a tenant and you’re injured, you will have to make sure that you present all the necessary documents and proof that the building owners were at fault. This can be tricky, though. The building owner would definitely defend themselves. Establishing who is at fault will rely on the proof that will be submitted in court.

 

This is important to take note of: the property owner is responsible for the maintenance of the whole apartment building – from maintaining floors and keeping them clean, staircases that do not have sharp or rough edges, to ensuring that the building is safe and secure from burglars and other unscrupulous individuals. The tenant, on the other hand, will have to be responsible for whatever is inside their apartment.

 

The building owner or the landlord has to meet all the legal obligations that are set for them to follow. Just the same, tenants have to know their rights.

 

COMPENSATION AWARDED FOR BACK INJURY IN THE WORKPLACE

A woman has been awarded compensation from her employer, the Community Information and Referral Service in the Australian Capital Territory, after her office chair collapsed. She suffered permanent back damage as a result of the accident, which occurred in 2002.

Terry Anne Downie (51) of Canberra, Australia, fell to the floor when the chair collapsed beneath her. Following an investigation into how to chair failed, it was discovered that a plastic moulding at the base of the chair suffered catastrophic failure as a result of two spokes at the base of the chair breaking.

Emergency services were notified and Terry Anne was taken to hospital. After receiving medical attention, scans of her back revealed that as a consequence of the incident, a disc in her spine bulged, causing it to come into contact with a nerve root. She stills suffers sciatica and pain in her lower back to this day.

Workers compensation was granted to Terry Anne from her employer. Terry Anne, due to her continued discomfort, also made a personal injury claim for compensation eleven years after the incident. The claim was made against the company who imported the chair assembly kit from China, Jantom. A further claim was made against the retailer Fyshwick who assembled the chair to sell to her employer.

Both companies denied liability for Terry Anne’s injuries as a results of her workplace accident. However, a judgement was passed down by the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court that found the import company Jantom and its insurance provider liable to pay Terry Anne Downie a sum of Au$933,030 in compensation for the injury sustained. A further Au$112,000 special damages was awarded to cover the costs of her medical care.

Her employer, the Community Information and Referral Service was also rewarded Au$441,911 as a result of the compensation that had been paid to Terry Anne since her accident.

Factory Foot Injury Resolved Out of Court

A factory worker from Sheffield has settled his compensation claim for a factory foot injury out of court. Michael Kirby will receive £6,500 after an alloy bar fell on his left foot breaking two metatarsal bones in it.

Mr Kirby pursued compensation for his factory foot injury on the grounds that he had received incorrect safety training when moving alloy bars.

The negligent party Ross & Catherall Limited admitted responsibility for the incident and the claim for a factory foot injury resolved out of court.

For news about personal injuries in the United States, please see here: http://www.accidentsclaimslaw.com/news/