Stairs Scare

If you are a property owner, do you know that you can get in trouble for defects in the construction in your property? I know what you are thinking? You are thinking that you should not be made liable for things that you do not know about. You may say that you are not an architect or an engineer and that you only contracted the building of your house or property and, hence, you should not be held responsible for the end product.

Unfortunately, my friend, you can never be more wrong. As a property owner, especially in California, you owe a duty to everybody who is allowed inside your property to keep them safe from all bodily harm that may result from dangerous conditions on your property.

If you invited a friend and he slips and falls while going down the flights of your stairs, you are liable for his damages. The Los Angeles Department Building and Safety or LADBS provides strict standards that must be followed in order for your stairs to be code compliant. It discusses the existence of handrails, the granules of the steps, the angle, rise and even the width of each step.

In case your friend slips on a wet or slippery surface on the stairs and falls down hard because your stairs do not have handrails, you are liable for his injuries on the ground of premise liability.

It could be true that you may have a claim against the contractor who built the house together with the stairs. However, it is a suit you have to file on your own to get back what you need to pay your friend for the injury. Remember, you can never ask the injured person to claim against your contractor. Your house is your responsibility and nobody else’s.

To Commute or Not to Commute

A lot of people especially in California prefer to commute everyday to work or to go places rather than rent a car or drive their own cars. More savings can be done by commuting.

First, you will be able to save gas. Second, you will be able to save car mileage, maintenance, and vehicle repair costs. Third, you can save money on parking fees. Fourth, you will be able to save yourself a lot of stress from driving through heavy traffic. Lastly, it will save you a lot of money, time and energy from being involved in a car accident.

However, there are trade offs in commuting instead of driving your own vehicle. If you use a public transport like bus, aside from sometimes giving up your comfort and security, accidents may also happen due to negligence of the driver.

It is more acceptable to us if we get injured due to our own fault or negligence. We have nobody to blame but ourselves, hence, we have no problems in spending our own money for treatments.

It is unfortunate, however, if you want to save a lot convincing yourself to ride a bus instead of taking your car only just to be involved in a bus accident. If you are injured because of the negligence of a bus driver, you are definitely entitled to claim damages. However, the hard part is not only sustaining injuries but the difficulties of pursuing your claims.