One of the most common reasons why a family member may file a wrongful death lawsuit is after a loved one is killed in an accident caused by landlord negligence. While specific landlord-tenant laws can vary greatly from state to state, all states share the same basic require that a landlord needs to maintain a safe residence for his or her tenant(s). If a tenant is killed as the result of a landlord who has failed in his or her obligations to a tenant, then the family has the right to seek compensation from the landlord and any other negligent parties through a wrongful death lawsuit.
In late August, The Boston Globe reported that the family of a young Boston University student, who perished in a fire in April 2013, was planning on filing a wrongful death action. The family accuses the landlord of renting an ‘illegal’ apartment. They allege that the house where the student lived was not safe and had several problems, including being overcrowded. The house’s building plans with the city listed six bedrooms but had been converted to have twelve bedrooms. A total of 14 tenants occupied the structure. Three of the tenants occupied bedrooms in the basement, which were deemed to have been illegal by the city more than 10 years ago. However, nothing was ever done.
According to the complaint, the tenants on the third floor only had one way out of the building, which was down a flight of stairs. On the day of the fire, this set of stairs was made impassable by heavy smoke and fire. Local code requires a rental unit such as this one, to have at least two means of egress. The complaint also alleges that the house had a faulty fire-alarm system. The system in place, which did not have a mandated city permit, either failed or was not connected properly so that an early sound would warn tenants on the upper floors of a fire. Instead, by the time the alarm located on the ceiling of the attic went off, smoke and flames had completely engulfed the stairs.
Per the complaint, had the apartment been equipped with a fully functional fire-alarm system and a second means of egress, the occupants on the third floor would have had time to safely escape the building on the day of the fire. Five tenants and guests did escape from the third floor rooms by jumping out of windows. Those that survived the blaze suffered injuries ranging from a fractured back to a sprained ankle. The student killed in the fire was found just a few feet from her third floor bedroom window. Her body was severely burned and the official cause of her death was smoke inhalation.
While the wrongful death suit filed by the student’s parents will never fully compensate them for their loss, it will hopefully help bring them closure and a sense of justice being served.
If someone that you love died as the result of landlord negligence it is imperative that you contact an attorney as soon as possible to help protect your rights. A Kansas City Wrongful Death Attorney can explain the process of seeking damages and will help make sure that you know what to expect. The experienced Kansas City Wrongful Death Attorneys at the Hubbard & Kurtz, L.L.P. have helped countless clients around the area, in both Kansas and Missouri. Our caring and compassionate team of attorneys are skilled at helping wrongful death client find their way through this challenging time in their lives. Please contact us today at (816) 472-4673 to set up an initial consultation.