QUESTION:
I fell at my rental on Dec. 21, 2011 and broke a bone under my eye, had to have surgery .The owner said she wasn’t responsible, although we were all told management wouldn’t change light bulbs, etc – we all had to do our own changing light bulbs, gardening, etc. I went out to change the outside light bulb and was carrying a huge ladder. The ladder legs got caught in the landscaping around the pretty stones at my unit and I fell face first on the cement. I went to bed all day. The next day I got up and my eye was black and blue and I went to Urgent Care – they sent me to a doctor and he said he’d have to do surgery the next day. Can I sue her? I wouldn’t have fallen if I didn’t have to take care of changing the light (and in this case it was dangerous because of the stones, the ladder legs had to be in the stones to change light. Whether or not the owner was liable for me falling at a rental – I shouldn’t have had to change the light bulb.I know I have 2 years to sue. I want to pursue it now.
ANSWER:
Landowners and possessors of land owe a nondelegable duty to put and maintain the premises (including its buildings and structures) in reasonably safe condition. They are liable for an independent contractor’s negligence in performing that job “irrespective of whether the contractor’s negligence lies in his incompetence, carelessness, inattention or delay.” [Brown v. George Pepperdine Found. (1943) 23 C2d 256, 259–260, 143 P2d 929, 930]. Mass-producers of residential homes and lessors in the business of renting residential units are exposed to strict liability for defects in an integral part of the building structure (e.g., defective shower door, defective heating system; see ¶ 2:1427, 2:1445). But the overall complex (the entire premises) wherein the housing is constructed is not itself a “product.” Thus, a claim for injuries resulting from an alleged defect in the overall complex must be treated as a premises liability claim, turning on negligence—not strict product liability—law. [Brooks v. Eugene Burger Management Corp.(1989) 215 CA3d 1611, 1624, 264 CR 756, 763].It would be best to seek personal assistance from a lawyer in order to guide you in filing a personal injury claim.
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