Atlanta Apartment Complex Negligence Lawsuits
When you pay rent for an apartment in an Atlanta complex, you expect to receive certain basic necessities in exchange for your payment. You expect to have a safe place to live with standard security measures in place and routine maintenance to keep the premises free from dangerous conditions.
Landlords are required by law to keep their property in repair and to exercise ordinary care to sustain the safety of the property. If one fails to live up to these obligations and someone gets hurt, then you can join the many tenants who have filed Atlanta apartment complex negligence lawsuits against their property’s manager or owner and pursue compensation for economic, physical and emotional harm suffered. Reach out to an experienced premises liability attorney to get started on your claim.
Compensation That May be Available for Apartment Complex Negligence
If a landlord’s negligence causes injuries to a tenant or guest, the landlord may be held liable for not maintaining a safe environment or property. If a lawsuit is successful, the apartment complex owner or manager may be required to pay damages to the injured person to compensate for losses such as:
- Doctor’s bills;
- Medical expenses such as physical therapy and medication;
- Lost wages from time off work;
- Lost future income or earning potential;
- Pain and suffering;
- Emotional distress; and
- Loss of enjoyment.
Determining the monetary value of damages when suing a local apartment complex for property negligence often requires projecting expenses and losses into the future. A seasoned personal injury lawyer should be able to calculate these costs so that an injured tenant or guest can seek the maximum amount to which they may be entitled.
When an Apartment Complex Owner May Be Held Liable
Official Code of Georgia §51-3-1 explains that when landlords or other property owners encourage people to enter their property for any lawful purpose, those owners must pay damages to those people for “injuries caused by [their] failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe.” Tenants and their invited guests would certainly be considered people to whom landlords owe a duty of ordinary care.
Typically, the most difficult aspects of Atlanta apartment complex negligence lawsuits and suing for injury are demonstrating what constitutes “ordinary care” in a particular situation. Also, it critical to show that the landlord’s failure to exercise ordinary care is what caused the harm suffered by the tenant, guest, or other person entering the property for a lawful purpose.
Landlords can be held accountable for failing to repair dangerous conditions which they either had notice of or should have had notice of. In other words, if they conducted reasonable inspections of their property, they would have noticed the condition. Examples of dangerous or unsafe living conditions include loose stair treads, missing handrails, and even improperly fenced swimming pools.
Negligent Security Liability
Part of the duty to provide safe premises is providing adequate security measures. In some cases, an apartment complex can be held liable for injuries caused by the criminal actions of third parties after a burglary or assault, if the complex was aware or should have been aware of a problem and failed to take adequate measures to address this problem.
For instance, if someone committed a similar crime on or near the complex previously and the owners or managers of the complex made no move to increase security, they could be held liable for injuries suffered during the criminal attack. Property owners and management companies in Atlanta have been successfully sued in the past for failure to provide sufficient lighting, secure locks, fencing, security guards, and other such measures.
Call a Lawyer to Learn More About Atlanta Apartment Complex Negligence Lawsuits
Every negligence complaint regarding an apartment complex is unique, as are all ensuing lawsuits. In a negligence lawsuit, the way facts are presented and the skill with which legal arguments are raised can play a major role in determining whether a property owner is held liable for injuries suffered on their property.
Atlanta apartment complex negligence lawsuits share certain elements, but each situation’s circumstances must be examined individually. For more information about apartment negligence lawsuits or for a case evaluation to determine whether your landlord or property management company should be held liable for negligence, contact a skilled lawyer from the firm today.
