Renting a property can be a massive strain on your financial life. This is especially true in Australia’s already overinflated property market, where even a small urban dwelling can be rented at twice the normal value.
As such, the last thing any renter wants is to be injured in their own home. If this happens, a person can miss out on work, valuable revenue and even be forced to pay large medical bills. One way to ensure your injury does not impact your quality of life is through a public liability injury claim.
However, there are some key aspects you need to know about before you head down that path.
When is a landlord liable?
Like all public liability claims, a plaintiff must show that a defendant is liable to for the injury you sustained. To accomplish this, your compensation lawyer will have to show that the landlord or the property manager was negligent in their maintenance of the property.
Additionally, your representative will need to provide evidence that draws a direct link between the injury you received and the actions or inaction of the landlord or the property manager.
Generally, for a landlord to be proven liable for an injury, they must:
- be responsible for the maintenance of the property that caused the injury; and
- have failed to take reasonable steps to avert the accident.
These are but a few of the requirements needed for a public liability claim. To ensure your case is successful, it is essential to have the right advice from a qualified professional personal injury lawyer.
What examples are there?
A hypothetical example may help you understand what all this means. Let’s say a tenant falls and breaks their wrist due to a broken door step while they are walking out of their house. The landlord is only responsible for the injury if the tenant can provide evidence that shows the following:
- It was the responsibility of the landlord to maintain the step.
- The landlord failed to take any action to repair or maintain the step.
- The broken step was directly responsible for the injury.
- The tenant’s injuries are real.
If these can be proven, a tenant can make a claim against the landlord’s insurance company for a number of losses, including income, medical bills and any physical or emotional pain suffered.
If you would like to know more, talk to the experts at Gerard Malouf and Partners today and find out about their no win no fee guarantee.
