As a tenant in Kansas City or anywhere else in Missouri, you know that you have certain rights. Whether or not your landlord is liable for your slip and fall accident, however, depends on many factors, including where and why you fell. Nevertheless, landlords in Missouri are generally responsible for keeping their rental properties in a safe and well-maintained condition.
If you were injured in a slip and fall at your KC rental property, whether a home or an apartment, don’t hesitate and call the KC personal injury attorneys at Popham Law. By getting a Popham Law injury lawyer on your side, you can acquire years of legal experience and know-how, helping you give your case the representation and diligence that it requires. Get compensation for your injuries today by call our Kansas City personal injury law firm at (844) 243-2288.
Basic Facts About Slips and Falls and Premises Liability
Every year, countless Missouri residents slip and injure themselves due to dangerous or hazardous conditions at rented properties, and if the cause of the slip was due to the property owner’s negligence, especially when it comes to the property’s safety and upkeep, then Missouri law allows the injured individual to file a lawsuit to cover medical expenses, pain and suffering, and more.This liability, which is detailed under Missouri law, is based on who is in actual possession or control of the property. For instance, if a landlord has leased a piece of property to a tenant but the landlord does not maintain control of the property, then that landlord might not be liable for injuries incurred by a visitor. At the same time, landlords owe their tenants a particular duty of care, such as:
- Using a standard of care to identify and repair dangers on the premises
- Warning tenants, guests, and visitors of known dangers
In general, a dangerous condition can include virtually limitless hazards, but most of the time, these dangers include slippery floors, poorly maintained stairways, and cracked sidewalks, all of which are common causes of slip and fall injuries.
The Duty of Your Kansas City Landlord
In the section mentioned above, landlords must use a “standard of care” when identifying and repairing dangers and warning guests of any dangers. As a legal term, “standard of care” generally means an attentiveness and caution a reasonable person must exercise under the circumstances. When a landlord doesn’t take reasonable care to maintain the property, then he/she might be negligent, and you can’t have liability without negligence in a tenant slip and fall lawsuit.Specifically, in order to win a slip and fall case, you must prove that your landlord was negligent. In other words, if you slipped, fell, and were injured, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your landlord had anything to do with it. To be liable for your injuries, the landlord must have caused (or failed to prevent) the conditions that led to your injury. In general, there are some ways to establish that the landlord knew of the dangerous condition, including:
- The landlord created the condition
- The landlord knew of the condition but negligently failed to correct it
- The condition existed for such a length of time that a reasonable landlord should have discovered it and corrected it prior to the accident
Lastly, as a major point in filing a slip and fall lawsuit, you will need to prove that the injury was foreseeable and preventable, yet the landlord didn’t take the proper measures to fix the problem.
Examples of Landlord Negligence
Many injuries are simply accidents, and it’s important to fully realize this before trying to hold your landlord responsible for your injuries. However, by looking at a few real-life examples, you can get a better idea of what might constitute a slip and fall injury. Some examples of landlord negligence may include:
- The landlord failed to remove snow and ice from the sidewalks of a multi-family property after a reasonable amount of time
- The landlord failed to fix a leaking roof or gutter that allows a puddle to form when it rains
- The landlord failed to fix a sinking sidewalk section, causing a dangerously uneven footpath
- The landlord failed to fix a defective and dangerous handrail
As you can see, there are certain patterns to these types of lawsuits: there was a dangerous condition that the landlord should have known about and the landlord failed to remove the danger in a reasonable amount of time.
Injured in an Accident? Call Popham Law in KC Today!
At Popham Law, our personal injury attorneys have represented many individuals who were injured in a slip and fall at their rented apartment or home. By calling our KC attorneys, we’ll carefully listen to your case, investigate the circumstances that led to the injury, and help build evidence with the goal of proving liability and getting you the compensation you deserve.For a free, no-obligation consultation with our law firm, call Popham Law today at (844) 243-2288.
