My furnance and hot water heater broke this month and I called maintenance to come check it out in the middle of the night and the mantainer just told me to turn off my gas and I was cold throughout the 38 degree night. The next day they replaced the thermocouple and I came back to a gas smelling apartment. I called maintenance back out and they said they didn't smell anything (I opened the windows to get the gas out, duh!) and then he tested for the leak by holding a lighter to all the gas lines! So I called the gas company out the next day and they found that my apartment's maintenance men hadn't tightened down all the joints when they put in the thermocouple and there was a leak. On top of that the gas company said that the leak probably caused my severe abdominal pain for those 2 days. Should my apartment offer me a discount off the rent for these mistake?
2007-11-09 01:14:49 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
All the pilot lights were lit and severe stomach cramps don't always require medical attention. I'm not trying to claim medical bill against them, I just want to make sure that they will come out in the middle of the night so I don't freeze or get sick from natural gas. And just as a note my doctor (I'm in the Air Force) agreed with me and has referred me to a GI off base.
2007-11-11 18:20:10 · update #1
Okay, I am going to play the bad guy in this.
First of all, the minute you smelled gas, you should have called the gas company, not maintenance. Maintenance specialize in small repairs like water leaks, painting, etc, not gas or electrical problems.
The next thing I am going to say is going to get alot of boos but is very true. The gas did not cause your abdominal pain and if they were as severe as you say, you would have went to the emergency room or a doctor. That is the only way you can hold the landlord responsible for your stomach pain, if you have medical proof in the form of a letter from the doctor. And not dated after the fact. The gas company, of all people, would know that gas will not cause abdominal pain. It would have made you sleepy, knocked you out and flat out killed you.
I am assuming you didnt sleep with the windows open that the night they fixed the furnace. If there was such a big leak at the thermocoupler, being it is in a confined space inside the furnace, when the furnace came on (since it was so cold) it would have exploded.
The landlord owes you nothing. You stayed in the apartment regardless that you smelled gas and it was so cold. The only way to prove the maintenance was responsible was to 1) get the gas company to give you a letter stating what the problem was, 2) give a copy of the emergency room diagnosis for the "severe" tummy pain. Then you would have "proof" that all this happened.
While it makes no sense to me that you stayed in a cold apartment filled with gas, it will not make sense to a judge either.
What does make sense is that the gas smell was because nobody bothered to re-light the pilot light on the hot water tank and the stove.
2007-11-09 02:32:05 · answer #1 · answered by kimmamarie 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Ouch! You can try to make a battle to cover your medical bills in small claims court, but after that, your LL will not want you staying there, and in turn my refuse to renew your lease. Your LL knows he has people working for him that do a half a** job, and my bet is that he does not care. It will be like trying to squeeze water out of a rock.
I had a similar situation with my hot water a few years back. It was the coldest weekend in 10 years. 15 degree temperatures. My heat and hot water was out from friday night all the way until Monday afternoon. And, I was sick with the flu! I withheld a portion of my rent. They complained and sent me all kinds of letters asking for the rest of the money. They wanted me to accept an apology only! Then I had to explain that I had to shower and sleep at a friends house for 3 days because my apartment was 48 degrees and I had no hot water all weekend-plus I was ill. I then explained that I would call the office of inspections and explain the deplorable living conditions to them. If that was not good enough, I mentioned a judge would see my side and probably award me more money. They quickly stopped harrrassing me about the money they thought I owed them. Now suddenly that balance of $70 is gone. I gave them a deal! Good Luck!
2007-11-09 02:25:36 · answer #2 · answered by _nicole_ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this cost you in terms of your quality of life: you had to take time out of your busy schedule to look after the place and ensure everything works properly. On the other hand, it sounds like you did not actually spend any of your own money. Your landlord probably does not care if he hired such a poor maintenance company to look after the place. I would say you can ask him but probably don't expect anything unless you want to make an issue and go to "war" over this.
2007-11-09 01:22:39 · answer #3 · answered by Q M 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Good Luck with that. The manager and maintenance person sound like a bunch of boobs. He could have blown the whole place up. I would think about moving. You can buy carbon monoxide detectors pretty cheaply. They are like a smoke detector. I would look into getting one if I were you. Better safe than sorry
2007-11-09 01:22:27 · answer #4 · answered by Clueless 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Either that or a reimbursement for any medical cost or damage associated to the mistake for sure and if you have documentation to back everything up you may be able to take them to court for any cost you may have incurred
2007-11-09 01:25:03 · answer #5 · answered by lord_gerrard 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
yes. the owner is responsible for the maintenance man, and the maintenance is the one who should "pay" not the customer.
2007-11-09 01:23:07 · answer #6 · answered by Lucille 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, they should just fix the problem and cover any medical bills you may have.
2007-11-09 01:22:02 · answer #7 · answered by scottsmylie 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋