A fire at someone’s residential property—whether it is their home or apartment—can lead to devastating injuries or even death. If you lost a loved one or suffered injuries from a fire at someone’s home in Pennsylvania, you could have a personal injury or wrongful death case. The claim could involve the homeowner if he or she was at fault for the fire, or even the home’s landlord or architect if there was something faulty with the property that led to the fire starting or spreading.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a House or Apartment Fire in Pennsylvania?
If a homeowner, or a member of the homeowner’s family who lives at the home, is at fault for the fire, your claim would generally be against the homeowner.
A more complicated scenario is if a guest at the home who does not live there is at fault for the fire. Here, you may have to prove the homeowner was aware of whatever dangerous activity the guest was engaged in that could lead to a fire and did nothing to stop the guest. It could also be a scenario where the guest should have been more closely supervised by the homeowner.
Your claim could also be against the landlord if the property was not up to code and this resulted in the fire starting or spreading. For example, the landlord could be renting out a property that did not have the necessary fire-resistant materials installed to help prevent a fire from spreading. As a result, if a fire starts, it could spread more easily and become a serious fire resulting in injury or death to anyone residing at the property.
The property may not have required smoke alarms, or the smoke alarms may have been faulty, preventing occupants from becoming aware of the fire until it was too late. The property may also have lacked required sprinkler systems, or the sprinklers may have malfunctioned and failed to slow the spread of the fire. Faulty electrical wiring that is not up to code could also have caused the fire to start. In many cases, a combination of these factors may contribute to a claim against the landlord.
It is especially important that landlords keep rental properties up to code when renting to someone with a disability. A disabled tenant may not be able to escape the property as quickly during a fire because of physical limitations.
Sometimes you could have a claim against both the homeowner and the landlord. For example, the homeowner may have negligently started the fire, while the landlord failed to keep the property up to code, allowing the fire to spread more rapidly due to missing fire-resistant materials, sprinklers, smoke alarms, or other safety features.
Landlord Negligence and Fire Safety Code Violations
If a landlord rents a property to you, the property has a defect that was not repaired after you complained, and that defect ultimately caused a fire that injured you, you may have a claim against your landlord. Likewise, the landlord may be liable if repairs were performed negligently or inadequately.
For example, the property could have had a defective heating system, and instead of properly repairing it, the landlord relied on portable space heaters to heat the property. Those space heaters could create an increased risk of fire.
If someone is renting out a property as a landlord, they must have the proper permits to do so. Landlords are also required to ensure the property complies with applicable safety codes. If a property remains listed as vacant, the owner may not be required to maintain certain standards that apply to occupied residences.
There may be situations where a landlord failed to obtain the proper permits before renting out a property that was still classified as vacant. In that situation, the home could present serious fire hazards because it does not meet the safety requirements for an occupied residence.
How Do You Prove Liability After a Residential Fire?
To determine whether a homeowner or landlord was at fault for a fire that resulted in injury or death, your attorney will obtain records from the fire department regarding its investigation into the fire.
Your attorney will also research the property’s permits, inspections, and occupancy status. Architectural or engineering experts may be retained to review records, inspect the property if possible, and help determine who was responsible for the fire. Your attorney may also retain a certified fire investigation expert to determine the fire’s cause and origin.
Another important factor in proving fault is your legal status while on the property. In other words, were you an invitee, licensee, or trespasser?
If you are a trespasser, it can be difficult to bring a claim because you generally must prove willful or wanton misconduct by the property owner.
An invitee is someone invited onto the property for a social gathering, to perform work, or for another lawful purpose. For example, if you were invited to someone’s home as a guest, you would generally be considered an invitee. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care.
A licensee falls somewhere between an invitee and a trespasser. A licensee’s presence on the property is tolerated, even though the property owner did not specifically invite them onto the property.
Proving Your Injuries and Recovering Compensation
In addition to proving liability, your attorney must also establish the injuries you suffered because of the fire. This can be done through medical records, testimony from your treating physicians, and opinions from other medical experts.
If you lost a family member in the fire, your attorney must also establish that the fire caused your loved one’s death using medical records, treating physicians, and expert testimony. If your family member did not already have a will naming an executor, someone will generally need to be appointed as the administrator of the estate before pursuing certain legal claims.
The Thistle Law Firm is experienced in handling personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from residential fires throughout Pennsylvania. If you or a loved one suffered serious injuries from a fire at someone else’s home or apartment, The Thistle Law Firm is here to answer your questions. Call 215-568-6800 today.