Rental housing arrangements are often quite convenient. Renters generally do not have to worry about the expense or logistics of property maintenance. Their landlord has to maintain the property and perform any necessary repairs when the furnace fails or a storm damages the roof. They also have the flexibility to move to a bigger home when their family grows or to move when they accept a new job.
Unfortunately, tenants renting residential space rely on their landlords to maintain a property in good condition. They may have no knowledge of the maintenance and repair needs of the property. If their landlord delays necessary repairs or maintenance, a tenant could end up seriously hurt as a result. For example, a ceiling collapse could cause massive property damage and put someone in the hospital. Tenants often have legal and financial protection after a ceiling collapse.
Ceilings can be surprisingly dangerous
Most ceilings are made from drywall panels. Each individual sheet of drywall weighs dozens of pounds. While a ceiling collapse may not involve an entire panel falling in on someone, even a portion of a panel can be enough to cause serious injury. Someone sleeping in their bed or stretching on their yoga mat could end up hit in the head by a heavy piece of drywall. They could suffer a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury. Plaster ceilings can be just as heavy and dangerous.
Drywall and other falling debris can also cause damage to valuable property. In most cases, landlords or property management companies are liable for such scenarios. Their failure to adequately maintain the property resulted in injury to another person. As such, an injured tenant may have the necessary grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Landlords typically have specialty insurance
Sometimes, tenants worry that taking legal action against the landlord might result in their eviction or the landlord losing the property. However, most property owners and property management companies carry insurance to protect against premises liability claims. Insurance companies usually aren’t particularly generous, so those injured by unsafe property conditions often have to file a lawsuit. Insurance companies are more likely to offer a settlement in cases where the injured tenant is assertive about their need for compensation.
Connecting a ceiling collapse at a rental home to losses including medical expenses and unearned income can help tenants hold landlords or property management companies accountable for this specific kind of harm. A successful lawsuit may lead to either direct compensation or a payout from an insurance policy.