Do I Have a Premises Liability Case After an Apartment Building Fire?

 Posted on July 18, 2023 in Personal Injury

Fire is one of the most destructive forces in nature and human society alike. An uncontrolled blaze can consume an entire apartment in mere moments. When you experience a fire in your apartment building, you can lose so many aspects of your life in a single night. A majority of your personal possessions can be destroyed. You may not have a place to live anymore, especially if the blaze was bad enough to consume much of the building. Most importantly, you could be seriously injured or lose a close family member. Smoke inhalation alone can cause severe physical harm even if the fire itself never reached you. Burn injuries can be debilitating and disfiguring. You may require prolonged hospitalization. Some sufferers will even continue to need care throughout the rest of their lives. If you were injured in a fire in an apartment building or lost a close family member due to one, you may be entitled to compensation. Filing a premises liability lawsuit may be the best way to pursue the compensation you deserve. An attorney can guide you through the process. 

Negligent Causes of Apartment Fires

While fires may be caused by an “act of god” such as a lightning strike, they are more commonly caused by the carelessness of humans. When a landlord rents living space in a building, they have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that the living area is safe for their tenants. Common types of negligence that can cause tenants to be injured in fires include: 

• Lack of fire alarm maintenance - It is not enough to install smoke alarms in common areas and forget about them. Landlords should see to it that all smoke alarms in the building are in good working order. 

• Nonprofessional electric work - Only licensed electricians should be working on electrical systems in residential buildings. If your landlord attempted to make electrical repairs or installations without the aid of a qualified electrician, their carelessness may have caused or contributed to the fire. 

• Fire code violations - No space should be rented to a tenant unless it is fire code-compliant. Examples of dangerous fire code violations include not having enough windows or having doors that open inward, which may cause people to become trapped while attempting to escape with other occupants close behind them. 

• Lack of maintenance - Equipment such as gas lines and boilers should be kept in good repair. This means that the landlord should be performing routine safety checks. 

Being involved in an apartment fire can be traumatizing as well as dangerous. If your landlord’s negligence contributed to the fire or prevented safe escape, you may be entitled to compensation. 

Contact a Cook County Premises Liability Attorney

Kaiser Law is committed to helping tenants who have been injured due to their landlord’s negligence recover the compensation they deserve. Our experienced Elmhurst premises liability lawyers will conduct a full investigation into the causes of the fire. Call us at 630-274-4400 for a free consultation. 

Source: 

https://www.emcins.com/losscontrol/techsheet.aspx?techsheetid=575