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Tenant Claims to Have Fallen Days After Being Served With Notice to Vacate

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  • 09-25-2010, 09:58 AM
    bb1962az
    Tenant Claims to Have Fallen Days After Being Served With Notice to Vacate
    My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: Louisiana

    Ok I gave a notice for eviction on 9/15/10 for 5 days to vacate and then tenant falls in my driveway on 9/19/10 and went to the hospital on the same day. She has no money, her boy friend is jobless and she told my daughter that no one seen her fall the boyfriend siad he was in the house and heard her fall. I guess I'm in a mess..but I do have renters insurance with liability coverage.

    If no one seen her fall can she still sue my insurance company?
  • 09-26-2010, 09:16 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Tenant Claims to Have Fallen Days After Being Served With Notice to Vacate
    She would sue you, not your insurance company.

    She can sue you based upon her own testimony of the events.

    Her merely falling on your property does not, of itself, make you liable.
  • 09-27-2010, 07:33 AM
    SChinFChin
    Re: Tenant Claims to Have Fallen Days After Being Served With Notice to Vacate
    I'm guessing, but if there is some kind of eviction proceeding, the tenant is going to have legal aid come in and claim she is incapacitated, and needs a postponement. I use an eviction lawyer for my rentals, according to him, this would be a standard trick. He says one postponement is automatic, and the second with a doctor's note.

    And then she might even threaten to sue you for the fall, and hopefully, if you agree to give them several months free rent, they might even drop the action. Nice of them, right??

    As I said, I'm guessing, but standard operating procedure for a deadbeat.

    As to whether it is a valid fall with no one watching, it reminds me of a question written on the blackboard by a philosophy professor on the first day of class, supposedly a famous Chinese philosopher wrote "if a tree in a forest fell, and no one heard and seen it fall, did it actually fall"??

    It was too many year ago, but the answer to it is YES. In your case though, your tenant, it could very well be a staged fall where she'll have to prove her case. It might stretch out eviction processing, which may amount to the same thing.
  • 09-27-2010, 06:18 PM
    KeyWestDan
    Re: Tenant Claims to Have Fallen Days After Being Served With Notice to Vacate
    The tenant has a nearly impossible burden.

    If this got to court, first she has to prove she fell. Then she has to prove legally that you are liable, that you had some duty owed to her. She has to prove at least negligence, such as there being a big uneven crack in the pavement or something like that.

    Then she needs to prove an actual injury which requires medical evidence. Her testimony is worthless in this regards.

    After proof of the actual injury she could in theory ask for pain and suffering damages.

    This is a very flimsy case at best. If she sues you, you will contact your insurance company who will hire you counsel and indemnify you against the damages. The insurance company hired attorney will defend you and by extension, the insurance company, and will take care of appeals and any judgment that might be granted, up to the value of your policy.

    First, she has to find an attorney who would take such a pathetic case on a contingency basis. She obviously has no money to pay an attorney.
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