Home safety goes beyond making your home safe for yourself and your family. It also means maintaining safe conditions for the people you invite into your home including your friends, loved ones, and other social guests, and those who are on your property for business purposes, such as repairmen or customers who come to a garage sale. Generally, you do not have a duty to maintain safe conditions for trespassers, unless the trespasser is a child.
Home Injury Liability
Under the legal theory of premises liability, homeowners can be held liable for injuries occurring on their property if they knew or should have known about the dangerous condition that caused the injury, and failed to correct the problem or warn guests of the danger so they could have avoided it. In some cases merely warning someone of the hazardous condition is not enough, and repairs are necessary.
In a home injury lawsuit against a homeowner, compensation is normally sought from the insurance company that holds the homeowner’s policy.
Home injuries are not always the responsibility of the homeowner, however. Home injuries can also be caused by defective products, faulty construction, or negligence on the part of a third party contracted to perform repairs or maintenance. If you were injured in your own home as a result of someone else’s negligence or a defective product, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages.
Compensation for Home Injuries
A home injury lawsuit can yield compensation for economic and noneconomic damages including:
- Medical expenses and future medical expenses
- Lost income and future lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Diminished quality of life
The loves ones of those who die as a result of home injuries may be able to recover wrongful death compensation.
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