When people get injured on someone’s Chicago, Illinois, property, they may pursue legal recourse. Those cases deal with premises liability and address the degree to which the owner or manager of the premises has liability for people suffering injuries there. They include instances of tenants suffering injuries on premises owned or managed by their landlord. Landlord tenant laws do vary per state.
Can landlords get insurance policies that cover tenants suing for injuries on the property?
To the great relief of landlords, the answer is yes. Landlords can markedly reduce their vulnerability to lawsuits by getting a comprehensive general liability policy. The policy can cover financial damages that result from defective property conditions and also cover the costs of attorneys employed to help you address legal actions taken by injured tenants.
What should the policy cover?
The policy should cover the value of your property. You’ll want the vehicles used by management to be covered as well, which may need to be with a separate policy. The main policy should be sufficient to address common claims filed by tenants, such as injury, evictions, slander and invasion of privacy.
Is a landlord liable for injuries suffered on his or her property by tenants and visitors?
If the landlord’s negligence in fulfilling his or her duties can be demonstrated, and that negligence is directly responsible for the injuries, then yes. The duties that a landlord must fulfill include maintaining all common areas in a proper manner and warning tenants of any hidden dangers, including those that the landlord is aware of and those that the landlord should be aware of. Additionally, landlords are obligated to ensure that furnished dwellings that are rented with short term leases are safe.
When a landlord and a tenant or visitor to the landlord’s property disagree about the landlord’s negligence or lack thereof, they will need to secure experienced representation to achieve a resolution.
Source: FindLaw, “Liability for Tenant Injuries and Insurance for Landlords,” accessed July 13, 2017