Category: Premises Liability

I am sorry to hear about your accident. Whether you are a tenant or a guest, you have legal rights. There is a duty of care that is owed by the owner of the apartment building to visitors and guests to the apartment. If you are injured in an apartment building accident, you may be able to sue the apartment’s owner for negligence, if the owner’s failure to exercise a duty of care resulted in your injuries.

Apartment building accidents often occur when owners fail to make repairs to structures in the building. Broken steps may not be repaired, and a guest could trip and fall. Smoke detectors that fail may not be replaced, which could lead to a deadly fire. A deck that became unsteady may not be fixed, which can lead to a fall.

In many cases, an apartment owner may not want to spend the money that is needed for proper repairs. The building’s owner may know about the repairs, but could be too lazy to make them. The owner may also be very “hands-off”, and may not take the time to investigate to see what repairs need to be made to the property. Some other common types of accidents that can occur in apartment buildings because of an owner’s failure to take the necessary steps include the collapse of the building, falls because of poor lighting, accidents in broken and dangerous parking lots, accidents in elevators that are not properly maintained, assaults in poorly secured buildings, and falls because of dangerous floors.

Accidents that can be easily prevented should never occur in apartment buildings. Residents have the right to live in areas that are safe, and guests have the right to be safe on the premises. If an accident occurs because of an unsafe condition, the responsible parties should be held accountable. An attorney can help determine who the responsible parties are, and the steps that should be taken as a result.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, and have been harmed because of a dangerous property condition in an apartment building, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles premises liability attorney, at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

An uneven floor can cause serious injuries if a person trips, stumbles, or falls on it. For many people, it may be difficult to see a difference in elevation of a surface. Customers and visitors to businesses may not have any way of knowing there is an uneven surface unless there is a sign warning about it.

If you have been injured because of an uneven surface in a public business, you may have the legal right to recover compensation from your injuries. That compensation may come from the owner of the building, the tenant of the building, or even a company that provided maintenance for the building.

Property owners have a legal duty to make repairs that are needed on a property. In addition, they have a duty to regularly inspect property to see if it needs to be repaired. Normally, in order to be liable for a fall, the property owner must have known or should have known of a dangerous condition. If a property owner had made repairs to a floor in the past because of its tendency to be uneven, that is evidence that the property owner should be on notice that repairs may be required again.

There are some common causes of uneven floor accidents. Many property owners do not properly maintain their floors, and ignore dangerous conditions. Sidewalks and driveways may crack because of weather, age, or the growth of tree roots under the property. Other accidents may occur because even though a property owner knows about a dangerous condition, he or she may fail to warn visitors of the condition.
Even one fall on an uneven floor can lead to very serious injuries. Some victims may suffer from back injuries, nerve damage, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, injuries to the spinal cord, and other conditions. Victims can seek compensation for their lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and more.

If you have been injured by a fall on an uneven surface in the Los Angeles area, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles premises liability attorney at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

Smoke detectors and fire alarms are invaluable tools for saving lives. It’s estimated that about 60 percent of deaths that occur due to house fires happen because there were no smoke alarms in the home. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, fires are the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the home. Alarms that can detect smoke, fire, and carbon monoxide are critical. Those alarms must be properly maintained as well as properly installed.

Your landlord may be legally liable for failing to install smoke detectors. Property owners have a duty to take steps to ensure that guests on their property are not harmed. In addition, California has laws requiring smoke detectors in certain residential facilities. If a landlord fails to follow the law, and a tenant is harmed, the tenant can sue for damages.

In some cases, a landlord may install smoke detectors and even check them from time to time, but the smoke detector may fail. Smoke alarm failures are not uncommon, and the devices have been recalled in the past due to malfunctioning devices. In that situation, the manufacturer of the smoke alarm may be held liable for your damages.

When victims have been involved in a fire or been harmed because of smoke inhalation, they can file a claim against the responsible parties. It’s important to hire an attorney who can help investigate, file a claim, and preserve evidence. Victims may be entitled to compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, property damage, and more. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles premises liability attorney, at 310-385-0567, if you have been harmed due to a fire and you believe that another party is to blame. My team can help. Call to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

Unfortunately, not all property open to the public is safeguarded for visitors. If you have had a crime committed against you on business property, such as a store, hotel, restaurant, or parking garage, and you suffered injuries or other damages as a result, you may have a claim for inadequate security. The property owner can face legal liability as a result of his or her failure to provide adequate security.

However, the property owner is not automatically liable just because you were injured by a criminal on the property. You must be able to show that a criminal action was foreseeable on the property, and that the owner failed to adequately take safeguards to protect against that criminal action. Property owners have a duty to be aware of likely criminal activity on the property and to take precautions to protect against that type of crime.

If there are a lot of cases of one type of crime on or near the property, the property owner has a duty to safeguard visitors. For example, if the neighborhood surrounding the property has had an increase in muggings, the property owner should take security precautions such as installing alarms, hiring security personnel, controlling access to their buildings, and installing exterior and interior lights.

Property owners are not responsible for all types of crime. If a crime could not have been foreseen, or if a property owner took proper precautions and a crime occurred anyway, the property owner may not be held responsible. Call Los Angeles premises liability attorney Conal Doyle of Doyle Law at 310-385-0567 if you believe that you were the victim of a crime because of the negligence of a property owner. Call to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.