Should I file a claim against my landlord's homeowner's insurance?

Question

My landlord has used old railroad ties as steps for as long as I have lived in this house. The one step is loose and rotten. She has been asked to repair it and never has. About three weeks ago, I fell and hit my left knee into the concrete slab at the bottom. I scraped it up and it ached for several days but I didn't think any more of it. Now it is throbbing when I put weight on it(to the point where I can hardly stand), I went to the doctor's and he ordered an MRI. He said that I have torn cartilage from that fall. I am going to need surgery not to mention that I can hardly bear weight on that leg. I have been off work for several days. I have a consult scheduled with an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. I have been told that recovery can be long and painful. I am a single mother with two children to raise and have no other source of income. Should I file a claim against her homeowner's insurance or be happy that I wasn't holding the baby when I fell?

Answer 1

You had notice of the step so your claim is quite weak. You can try, but case law will probably show that with your notice, the landlord is not liable. However, you may live in a state with great landlord/tenant laws. Call a personal injury attorney and set up a free consultation.

Answer 2

I have had some experience in this kind of thing, although I was not negligent nor was I found to be so in my situation. My insurance protected me completely.
Insurance is there for situations that come up where folks have an accident and need their bills covered. You could probubly sue too but that's for an attourney to tell you.
If you have suffered out of pocket expenses, lost work etc. and this was caused by your injuries sustained in your fall, it is only fair that you are compensated. Talk to your landlord frankly and see if they are willing to cover your losses. If not talk to an attourney. If your landlord is smart, they will take care of you properly. This stuff gets a little dicey and particualarly when legal council gets involved. All due respect to the At's here on the site, it seems it becomes more about how much money the at's can make and less about how is the victime/plaintiff compensated for their loss. No one ever said insurance was the lotto and you could get rich if you have a claim as a victim of falling on stairs or whatever.
Good luck to you and your landlord. I hope you can work it out without a lot of legal hasseling and that you don't experience any loss beyond the inconvenience of it all.

Answer 3

Yes. You did not say if you have insurance or not, but generally your insurance will file a claim against the homeowners insurance rather than pay the bills themself. This sounds like it could be very high medical bills with much loss of income. You probably cannot afford not to file a claim. That is why landlords and other have homeowners insurance.

Answer 4

If she had been asked to replace/repair the step, and refused to, then she knowingly caused your injury. She is neglegent in your case, and should have to pay for all expenses you incure due to the step. I think I would file a claim, because I can tell you from experience, a knee injury is an expensive injury.

Answer 5

This is a sticky situation because filing a claim COULD lead to your eviction, however if you have asked her several times to fix the situation and she hasn't- you probably need to move anyway. You are not required to give her 30 days notice in this situation because by not fixing the problems in a reasonable amount of time, she has already legally evicted you. My advice is find somewhere to move- call her when you know when you're leaving and tell her that you're moving out and that you plan on filing your claim. Then tell her you're calling your local Housing Authority and complaining to them.- she may lawyer up and settle with you outside of court.

Answer 6

I would file a claim or you will be liable for all of the expenses from your Dr. visits and surgery. You need to get that taken care of so you have money to live on while you are off of work.