Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: broken leg

Your landlord should have a large liability policy, but whether he does or not you can only find out by asking him. Lenders normally require insurance coverage on the structure but that is for damage to the structure its self.

Without seeing what the steps look like, none of us have any idea whether you can show either they were constructed in a negligent fashion [were they build to local and state codes] or negligently maintained. You need to see a local personal injury attorney. Your landlord does have the asset of the rental home so even if he does not have insurance he is not judgment proof [go to the County assessor's office and look up who is on title and hope that it is not an LLC; look to see what other property he owns in the county and go out to look at it to get an idea how much he might have].

Your attorney will tell you to keep but do not wear the shoes you had on when you fell [to show how much friction the could produce], take many pictures of the entire flight of stairs and at the same and similar conditions as right when you feel and at the best time to see the stairs -but let teh attorney decide ifhe willhave someone take the pictures because any writing you produce or picture you take can be obtained by the landlord's attorney. You can apply for State Disability. You need to have health insurance even though it is very costly.

Re: broken leg

Obviously, I am sorry to hear about your mishap. I hope you are resting comfortably.

I can't answer whether the landlord, and/or his insurance company is liable or not. I need to get a number of questions answered, before I can give you advice. After reading this, please e-mail answers, or feel free to call my office. I am semi-retired and my office is in my home, so I can be reached on weekends.

How long have you lived in the rental? Do you have a written lease? What kind of work do you do? How much is your average wage per month?.Was the fall at night, or during the day? If during the night, are there adequate lights? Were you intoxicated, or had you consumed any alcohol prior to the fall? How did you get to a hospital--car, ambulance, etc.? Were there any witnesses? What was the date of the fall? Has anyone else ever fallen there? If you knew the steps were uneven and cracked, what caused you to fall? Has landlord ever discussed the steps, before or after your fall? Have you had a phone call from an insurance company for landlord since the fall? Was there a police report?

That will keep you busy for now. Please don't discuss this with any insurance company, or neighbors, or landlord, until you have spoken with me, or an attorney you feel comfortable with.

If money is tight, and you fear running up your phone bill, I'll be happy to call you back.

Please e-mail or call with the answers to these, and I'll try to help you in this matter.