London Slip and Fall Accidents Caused by Loose Floorboards
When a person rents property from a landlord, that person has the right to certain expectations. The landlord is responsible for providing a safe environment for the tenants, making sure that everything is up-to-date and meeting specific safety standards. When the landlord does not pay attention to the condition of his or her rental property and someone is injured, it is the landlord who can be held responsible for the injuries that were sustained because that landlord failed to provide a safe and comfortable place for the tenants to live.
If some of the floorboards are loose inside a property and a tenant does not even realize it, the tenant could slip, trip, and easily get hurt because of those floorboards. When something like this occurs, the best thing for the tenant to do is speak to a lawyer for professional advice. A lawyer may be able to help a victim of a loose floorboard injury recover compensation for his or her losses.
Causes of Loose Floorboards
Floorboards can easily become loose over time, but this is something that an owner of a property would need to pay attention to and be fully aware of before allowing tenants to move in or allowing anyone else to enter the property. In many instances, the floorboards become loose because the nails that are attached to them are damaged, rusted, or slightly loose. A floorboard can grow weaker over time due to wear and tear, especially if it is damaged and has not been replaced in many years. When a floorboard starts to loosen up, it may start to stick out from the ground, causing plenty of potential problems for anyone who walks around inside the property. Even if you have noticed a loose floorboard and were trying to be as careful as possible, there are still times when you could potentially trip over that floorboard and land on the ground, suffering serious injuries such as broken bones and head and neck injuries.
Injuries Caused by Loose Floorboards
Many things can happen when there are loose floorboards inside a home. One of the most common things that can happen is a trip and fall accident. When a floorboard sticks out from the floor, it gets in the way of your path and it can easily cause you to trip and fall right to the ground and get hurt. Even if that loose floorboard is quite noticeable, there is still a chance that someone would trip over the floorboard simply because they were not looking at the ground while they were walking. If you are in the middle of a conversation or if you are simply trying to rush to do something in a moment’s notice, you may not pay much attention to the damaged floorboard that is sticking out. You should not have to live your life constantly worrying about loose floorboards inside your home or elsewhere.
If you trip over the floorboard and fall, you can break your arm, wrist, leg, foot, or any other body part. It simply depends on how you fall and where you land. You might suffer from broken bones, sprains, and even a concussion if you manage to hit your head during the fall. These injuries are incredibly severe and can lead to hospitalization. You might even need to spend days in the hospital because it would likely take some time for you to recover from all your different injuries.
Not only is it possible to fall and get hurt from tripping over a loose floorboard, but it is also possible to simply break your foot or ankle from stepping on the floorboard when walking. Such a simple problem that is relatively easy to fix can cause some serious injuries to occur. These injuries could have been avoided if the damaged floorboard was replaced.
Figuring Out Who Is at Fault
Finding out who is at fault for your injuries is important. When a person initially trips over a floorboard and suffers from injuries, the injured person may assume that it is his or her own fault for not paying close enough attention to the floor. However, this is not entirely true. If you were the one who suffered from injuries caused by loose floorboards in your own home or apartment, you should know that your landlord may be at fault for those injuries. Your landlord has a serious responsibility to make sure that the property is up to par and in the best condition before renting it out to any tenants. If your landlord was aware of the loose floorboards and failed to take any action, your landlord was being negligent.
The negligence of your landlord is what caused you to suffer from serious injuries. You likely never expected to trip over a loose floorboard and get hurt. You may be worried about taking any type of action against your landlord because you do not want to have to move out or find somewhere else to live while trying to recover. However, you should not worry about potential retaliation. Your lawyer can provide you with helpful tips on what to do when dealing with this type of situation.
CONTACT PRESZLER INJURY LAWYERS
If someone else’s negligence caused you to sustain compensable injuries in a slip and fall accident, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers to learn about options for financial recovery that might be available to you. For a free initial consultation on your case, contact our London slip and fall accident lawyers by calling 1-800-JUSTICE.
