Injury received in furnished rental property (apartment, credit, lawyer)

[shelli214]

We have recently moved into a furnished rental home, (4 days ago, trying to unpack our belongings) the landlord is a realtor & has own business. 2nd night, i took a bath with my 1 year old, there was a glass vase on side of bath which had a hairline crack in it. i picked it up lower than the crack to move it away from my toddler, it broke in my hand gashing my thumb very badly.(I could see white so not sure if it was tendon or bone, it was that deep) ER gave me 6 stitches & I'm having to followup with a specialist to see if any nerve damage, tendon seems ok but i'm having nerve issues in forearm. Landlady is aware but never even apologized, replied with "oh it must have been cracked then"! If i end up with nerve damage I'm thinking of speaking to a lawyer to see if she is liable in anyway. My husband has had to take 2 weeks off from work as i can't lift our toddler, change a diaper, drive or prepare / cook food. My mother in law is flying in from the UK this weekend to also help us out.

What would you suggest I do with regards to this? Is it worth contacting a lawyer? Is she liable in anyway? Other things she promised on doing before us moving into the property had not been done, carpets shampooed (she has a puppy which was using them as its bathroom) the house professionally cleaned, it was filthy, but to her credit she got the cleaners back in, although her attitude stunk about it. If I do go forward with a claim, I guess we could no longer live here?? She is currently living in the converted space above the garage......uuughhhh

Any advice, greatly received, Thanks in advance,

[Hollytree]

Technically, you can sue her. The most you're likely to get is cost of your medical care (if out of pocket) and maybe some pain and suffering.

But, are you sure you're not just unhappy and looking for a reason to sue?

Put yourself in the landlady's shoes. She's probably financially desperate if she's moved to an onsite apt and is renting out her home. Could she have done anything to prevent what happened? Could she have foreseen it? Accidents are accidents- just be certain suing her is something you really want to do.

Of course, you'll have to leave!! Can't imagine living there after a lawsuit!

[miu]

Wow. But sometimes sh*t happens and all at once. And I think that your landlady feels much more horrified and badly about the situation that you think she does. She may be afraid of verbalizing the accident being her fault. If she is living in a garage apartment, it's because she needs the income from renting her house out.

And I think that three separate things are going on here.

First, your injury due to an accident. And for that, you need to talk to a real lawyer in person about that, not a bunch of internet strangers. And you can't sue until your injury is healed and you've gotten all your medical bills in order. Once this goes through court and the judge rules, it's final and you can't file a later claim for any other issues relating to that injury.

Secondly, you've just moved into this already furnished house and there are unrelated dissatisfactions with the apartment not being clean enough (carpets). And it's your landlord's former residence and her belongings. She sounds old too. But anyway, since she herself doesn't have young children, of course the place wasn't childproofed. I think that it was on you and your husband to do an initial walk-through carefully to baby-proof the house before settling in... like removing the cracked glass vase carefully from the bathroom ahead of time. You knew the glass vase was cracked before you picked it up. And it sounds like you picked up the cracked vase with one hand instead of two hands (no hand supporting the base of it)... btw I do see people using cracked glass vases to hold dried flower arrangements all of the time. They loved the vase when it wasn't cracked, but after it got damaged they still wanted to keep it around.

Lastly, you have the added stress of your MIL flying in from the UK this weekend.

I am truly sorry about the accident. I would definitely speak to a lawyer about the situation, for your peace of mind, you need to know what your legal rights are. Then take a deep breath and focus on getting better and instead of worrying about possible nerve damage, think more positively and do all the physical therapy exercises they prescribe for you.

[Nodpete]

Sue, sue, sue, that's all people today think of the minute THEY do something wrong ! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT ! Why is it never your fault ? Why was there a glass vase on the edge of the bath, why would you leave something like that in a place like that , it makes no sense? You should have moved anything that could cause a potential problem away from the bath if you're going to put you baby there. I'm sorry that you got cut, but it is not the landladies problem in my book. I hope you heal quickly and completely.

[sezzam]

Originally Posted by miu

Wow. But sometimes sh*t happens and all at once. And I think that your landlady feels much more horrified and badly about the situation that you think she does. She may be afraid of verbalizing the accident being her fault. If she is living in a garage apartment, it's because she needs the income from renting her house out.

...

I am truly sorry about the accident. I would definitely speak to a lawyer about the situation, for your peace of mind, you need to know what your legal rights are. Then take a deep breath and focus on getting better and instead of worrying about possible nerve damage, think more positively and do all the physical therapy exercises they prescribe for you.

Everything miu wrote. Well done miu.

[GregW]

One of the first things anyone with any common sense does is remove ALL glass except the mirror from the bathroom. Your mistake, your pain, your suffering.

[riddei63]

Which half of the glass?

I say you were fortunate your 1 year old is safe and unharmed. Your perspective may vary.

[sgthoskins]

Originally Posted by GregW

One of the first things anyone with any common sense does is remove ALL glass except the mirror from the bathroom. Your mistake, your pain, your suffering.

+1

It's a sad state in this country when someone makes a mistake and the first thing they consider is looking to the .gov for payment.

There was no negligence on the part of the landlord. People like the OP are the reason I will never rent out property.

[shelli214]

im not in this to sue, sue, sue, i was asking for advice!

GregW - I saw the vase was cracked hence why i moved it, I would have moved it anyway even if it wasn't cracked! I have plenty of common sense thanks, so quit with your derogatory remarks.

There have been young nephews & nieces running around the place so its not like theres not been little ones here! This happened Monday early evening, we moved in late Sunday evening! A day unpacking essential items, while trying to clean the house & baby proof, I cant do absolutely everything at once! Ive vacuumed floors twice & mopped 3 times & i'm still finding shards of glass around the floor in the living room! So much for it being professionally cleaned. I'm just gob smacked at her attitude.

Thanks for the advice

[shelli214]

Riddie63 - The vase broke in the middle, it was a square vase & the corner of it was which went into my hand. I was holding it pretty low, near the base, hence why when it broke the gash is deep because the glass is thicker at the base.