What Is Negligent Maintenance?

Premises liability cases, while complex, can typically be easily explained as situations in which a person is injured on a property belonging to another party. The responsible party here could be anyone from the owner to the manager.

Generally speaking, accidents in negligent maintenance cases are completely preventable as they are a direct result of the responsible party’s failure to adequately maintain the property where the injury took place.

Let’s go over the basics of negligent maintenance and how you can seek compensation for your injuries. 

Negligent maintenance explained

Dangerous property conditions occur when the responsible party fails to maintain the property up to standard. We’ll go over some of the most common examples of negligent maintenance later because first, we need to go over the duties of the owners and occupiers of the property. 

To start, people in charge of running a property have to inspect its condition at reasonable intervals. This helps reveal any threatening surroundings. It’s important to note that this duty is still in effect even if the owner didn’t receive any complaints.

When it comes to maintenance, owners and managers are required to maintain the property and conduct any repairs that can eliminate the chances of visitors being injured on the premises.

In reality, things are different, and many responsible individuals are behind the development of dangerous conditions. Sadly, this also stands true even if plenty of visitors already voiced their complaints. 

For instance, a nightclub owner may have received multiple complaints about the broken lights at the entrance, but they chose to ignore them. After someone is attacked due to an unsafe condition, the owner may go into damage control mode by fixing the light, at which point it’s too late.

Similar thing applies to homeowners and condominium associations if they were aware of a hazard or created the hazard itself. A clear example of this is a situation in which the owner of a unit in a condo complained that the ladder on the swimming pool on the premises is broken. The association board may fail to make repairs, and if someone is injured, the board could be guilty of negligent maintenance.

Who can be held responsible for negligent maintenance?

In cases a tenant, unit owner, or visitor suffers an injury on the premises, they may be able to sue the responsible party for economic and noneconomic compensatory damages. Economic damages include things like medical expenses and lost income, while noneconomic damages refer to mental anguish, pain and suffering, or loss of consortium. 

When it comes to responsible parties, they’re not limited to just the owner. Third-party contractors such as snow removal companies or landscapers are often on the list of defendants in a premises liability lawsuit. 

In addition, property owners sometimes shift liability to a third party responsible for resolving some of the dangerous conditions. For instance, if someone was robbed on the premises, the owner may blame the security company, or the homeowners’ association may try to shift the liability to a landscaping contractor if they failed to maintain common areas. 

In Florida, maintaining the property and keeping the premises safe are considered non-delegable duties, meaning the owner, operator, or the homeowners’ association is responsible for maintaining common areas. This is valid unless they obtain an indemnity from a third-party contractor and the contract clearly states that the company retained for maintaining the premises is obligated to indemnify the owner or the association. 

Types of negligent maintenance

Negligent maintenance can take a variety of forms, and each can cause serious harm to individuals on the premises. Common examples include:

1. Broken light fixtures

Owners must ensure the property is adequately lit and all light fixtures are in good condition. Failure to do so may result in low-light conditions, which exponentially increase the chance of injuries, especially if there are other hazards on the property. 

2. Loose handrails

By design, stairs are already hazardous. However, if the handrail fails when someone is navigating the stairs, it can lead to potentially fatal consequences. Because of this, owners must regularly inspect all the handrails to make certain they are firmly fixed and in good condition. 

3. Broken or cracked floors

Hazards on the flooring, parking areas, or sidewalks like slick spots, seams, and cracks make slip-and-fall accidents a lot more likely. Although owners must maintain floors so they don’t fall into disrepair, if there is damage, they’re obligated to post signage that helps mark the dangerous area. 

4. Poor security

Certain types of premises require more security measures than others to keep all the visitors and occupants safe. A good example of these measures are gates, doors, and security cameras that can prevent break-ins. 

5. Cluttered walkways

Walkways cluttered with debris such as boxes or other objects make it difficult to navigate the premises, much so they may increase the risk of injury. This is particularly true if the clutter is making it impossible to evacuate the premises in case of an emergency like a fire. 

6. Other types of negligent maintenance

Negligent maintenance also includes situations in which the owner fails to:

• Secure swimming pool areas and ignores safety precautions that may help avoid accidents
• Remove ice and snow from walkways, low branches, and leaning trees
• Properly maintain systems such as plumbing or electrical
• Inspect and repair decks, balconies, and porches

Fight for what you deserve

If negligent maintenance led to your injuries, you have the legal right to sue the liable party for damages. This is only fair as you shouldn’t be expected to pay out-of-pocket for any costs related to the injury.

Keep in mind that pursuing a liability premises lawsuit isn’t that easy, even if the case seems clear-cut. You’re likely to run into pushback from the owner or other parties involved. This is why you should retain a personal injury attorney at the very beginning. A legal professional will investigate the accident, use their legal knowledge to identify the liable parties, and fight on your behalf if the case goes to court. 

If you don’t know where to turn to for help, the Law Offices of RITE is the right choice. Our main goal is to provide citizens of North Florida with a law firm that is small enough to maintain a personal connection to their clients but big enough to fight to the end. In other words, we have the resources to support an arduous litigation process, but we won’t lose sight of what’s in your best interest. 

Let us review your case - call (904) 500-RITE (7483) or send an email to info@rite4justice.com.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.