We spend much of our day going through doors and take it for granted that they are safe and working properly. But a broken door can cause serious harm and leave you with long-term or permanent injuries. If you were injured by a defective or broken door, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Under California law, a property owner has a legal duty to ensure the safety of their premises for guests and visitors. This duty is defined by the legal concept known as “premise liability,” which applies to all private and commercial properties. If you’ve been hurt by a defective door, call us right away to speak to one of our experienced attorneys.
Types of broken doors
Before we talk further about premise liability, let’s look at the types of broken doors that can lead to injury.
- Bathroom/Restroom Doors
- Broken shower doors
- AirBNBs and hotels motels
- In office buildings, residential apartment complexes, and rental units
- In schools – Public and Private Schools, colleges and universities
- In medical facilities – ER’s, Hospitals, and Doctor’s offices
- Commercial Locations – restaurants, malls
Most people associate serious injuries with commercial properties, which typically have automatic and revolving doors that malfunction easily. However, injuries from residential property doors are very common, especially in apartment building and rental units. You could, for example, be a guest at someone’s apartment and fall through a door that failed to close properly due to a broken latch. No matter where your broken door injury occurred, it’s imperative that you speak to a personal injury lawyer right away.
Cause of door latch defects
Broken latches are one of the most common reasons for door-related injuries, and it’s not hard to see why. A latch is a simple type of hardware that keeps the door closed by fastening it to the frame. When a door latch is defective, the door can fly open without warning and hit someone that’s walking by or standing in front of it. Aside from being hit with the door, you can also be hurt by sharp or heavy objects that are hanging from the door. Such objects include door handles, which have been known to penetrate the skin if they’re sharp enough or strike the victim’s hand with enough force.
Common causes of door latch defects include:
- Broken screws
- Lack of maintenance
- Construction and repair at the time of the accident
Lack of maintenance is by far, the most common cause of defective door latch-related injuries. Property maintenance of a door’s hardware is especially important since this is where the door’s safety lies. Of course, knowing that a door is unsafe and making the owner take responsibility are two separate things. Some owners will claim that they are not responsible for the door because so-and-so is supposed to take of that. Others are negligent landlords, who fail to properly inspect the premises before renting it out. This can be very difficult to deal with when you’re suffering from an injury. Please call the Normandie Law Firm today and let us fight the full compensation you deserve.
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Common Injuries
Each broken door accident is unique, and the resulting injuries depend on many factors such as the type of door and where the person is standing in relation to the door. An overhead door, for example, can hit someone on the head and cause a skull fracture or severe brain injury. If a person is standing near the stairs, being hit by a flying door can send them hurtling down the steps.
The Normandie Law Firm has seen its share of broken door injuries over the years. Here are some of the most common types of injuries:
- Broken bones
- Lacerations
- Fractures
- Concussions
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Nerve damage
- Paralysis
As you can see, these are serious injuries that often require expensive, long-term care. To ensure the best possible chances for recovery, make sure to go to the hospital right away. This way, you’ll get a medical report of your injuries, along with prescriptions, X-rays, and other evidence you’ll need for a lawsuit. Once your condition is stable, you should call a knowledgeable personal injury attorney to find out about your legal rights. Our lawyers look forward to speaking with you and helping you recover the compensation you’re entitled to.
Premise Liability Laws
Property owners can’t anticipate the exact moment a door becomes defective. But they are responsible for making sure that the doors on their property are safe. This involves paying attention to red flags, like rattling locks or misaligned strike plates that make it hard to close and open the door. These conditions indicate that the door latch is failing and the owner is liable for replacing it.
But proving a case of broken door injury involves more than the owner’s lack of maintenance. This is known as premise liability, or the duty of care an owner has for your safety while you’re on their property. According to California laws, you are required to prove the following circumstances in order to file a broken door injury lawsuit.
- Your injury occurred on the property.
- The owner was negligent regarding the maintenance of the property.
- The owner’s negligence was the sole or primary reason for your injury.
- The owner has definitive control of the property as the registered owner, lease holder, etc.
Along with proving these factors, you must be sure that you are suing the correct party. This is easier with homeowners and business owners, but what if the property is run by a management company? Particularly in the case of management companies, it’s easy to get the run-around and become frustrated from the lack of communication and transparency. Our lawyers look forward to taking the stress off your shoulders and helping you recover the payment you deserve.
Average Case Value
The case value, or average settlement value of your broken door claim depends on many factors, most notably, the severity of your injury. Simply put, the more serious your injury, the more compensation you deserve. In addition to the degree of injury, insurance adjusters will consider the injury’s impact on your life. For example, are you unable to work or need to change careers because of the injury? If so, you would be entitled to greater compensation than if you were able to return to work.
As for a specific number, that’s impossible to give since each case is unique with its own set of circumstances. Clients often look at cases similar to theirs, and that’s not a bad way to get an idea of what you stand to receive. For example, the average national payout for an amputated arm is around $170,000. An amputated hand, however, has a much lower nationwide value of around $144,000. As we mentioned, a lot of this has to do with the degree of injury and the long-term effects on the client’s life.
These statistics, however, are not an accurate reflection of what we can recover for you. Our lawyers have won millions of dollars for clients whose injuries left them with permanent disabilities. In those cases, the clients were injured through no fault of their own, and there was a clear link between their injury and the owner’s negligence. Other cases were valued at around $150,000 or less, even though they involved similar injuries. In short, there’s no one answer to the question of, “How much will I receive?”
How Normandie can help
While we can’t guarantee a specific amount of compensation, we can promise you expert legal advice and representation for your broken door injury lawsuit. Start by calling us and scheduling a free consultation with one of our attorneys. Your lawyer will answer any question you have and advise you of all your available legal options. Best of all, our Zero fee guarantee means you can start your claim right away with no upfront costs. There are no costs to you during the lawsuit, either, since we work on contingency. In other words, we don’t get paid unless you do, and there’s no cost to you if we lose. As you can see, you have absolutely nothing to lose by coming in for a free consultation.
To learn more about your rights as a broken door injury victim, call Normandie Law firm today.
