Can I sue my landlord for not fixing my rotton porch if I ended up falling through and getting injured?

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Can I sue my landlord for not fixing my rotton porch if I ended up falling through and getting injured?

I tore ligaments in my hand and sprained my shoulder.

Asked on May 30, 2014 under Personal Injury, Washington

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

Your landlord may be liable IF he either knew (such as if someone actually told him about the  problem) that the porch was rotten or reasonably should have known (such as if the landlord or his staff were regularly at the premises, and the the fact that the porch was rotten would be obvious to anyone visiting the property). In that event, the landlord would have been unreasonably careless, or negligent, in not taking action to repair or correct the problem. On the other hand, if the rot was not obvious and no one told the landlord that there was rot, then there is a good chance the landlord would not be liable, since without knowledge of a problem, the landlord would not have done anything wrong in failing to fix it--and liability in cases like this is based on their being some fault, or wrongful act.


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