Most people only think about having the contact information of a reasonable personal injury attorney once they need one. That goes for residents around Brownsville, Texas, too. But when they do, it’s essential. And to be clear, a personal injury can happen just about anywhere: a car accident, a worksite, an office, or a public space. It can even happen around your apartment. 

If you are a renter, you may need to know what landlord personal injury coverage is, which is also known as landlord liability insurance. It’s insurance to help cover personal injury costs if a landlord’s property is proved liable for an accident. ” Negligence” doesn’t necessarily mean the landlord is aware of a dangerous condition. In many situations, a landlord can held liable for a personal injury if they didn’t know about dangerous conditions, but should have. 

Here are some examples where a landlord could be liable for a personal injury around the Rio Grande Valley:

• Negligence of property maintenance such as elevators, handrails, or stairs. Even sharp exposed metal like a broken pipe is the responsibility of the landlord to secure
• Pets on the property need to be adequately managed. If you live in an apartment and another renter has an aggressive dog that hurts you, both the dog owner and the landlord could be liable for the injuries. 
• Being criminally assaulted due to security lapses on the property.  Public spaces on a property should be safe to walk around. This includes stairways, parking structures, elevators, game rooms, and pool areas. Surveillance equipment and security are standard safety precautions that many responsible landlords use. 
• Bad Tenants who impact the safety of other tenants. If a landlord knows a particular tenant is being a nuisance to others, they are responsible for protecting other tenants. Bad tenants can be aggressive, threaten others, and/or engage in illegal behaviors. If a tenant is injured due to a bad tenant, this can fall on the landlord. 

To learn more about landlord liability, The Insurance Journal (https://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/features/2010/11/01/160324.htm) offers a post titled “10 Things You Should Know about Landlord Liability and Exposure.” 

What happens when you get injured at someone’s house? 

When an adult or child is hurt at someone’s home, premises liability could come into play. 

Premises liability can cover compensation for medical care, lost wages, emotional scarring, and pain and suffering. Usually, for this to be valid, the homeowner has to be aware of a dangerous situation and they did not warn the visitors. Dangerous issues could be a hole in the ground or an area with faulty steps and sharp objects. Ejuris (https://www.enjuris.com/texas/premises-liability/) provides more details on this topic.

Getting injured at a family or friend’s house here in Brownsville, TX,  could cause an uncomfortable situation. But if you’ve suffered a personal injury at someone’s residence and it’s turned into a very expensive medical bill, fair compensation could be the answer. Often, a mortgage lender will require homeowners to have premises liability coverage. If that’s the case, this should not make things difficult. If you have a question about a personal injury, ask us (https://jvlawfirm.net/practice-areas/personal-injury/)!