What do I do if a Roommate Injured Me?

Roommate relationships are sustained on trust. Much of this trust is financial; there must be a division of accounts for rent, groceries, and utilities. However, trust moves beyond simple decisions regarding money. If you’ve been injured – intentionally or not – by a roommate, he or she may be legally responsible for your injuries. Though you should discuss this with an attorney, here are the initial considerations for a personal injury suit.

Regardless of the situation, if you’ve been hurt, seek medical attention. It’s easy to disregard a slip or bonk on the head when it initially happens, but these injuries can become more serious in the hours after they occur. An emergency room doctor or a personal doctor can diagnose your injury. Be sure to obtain documentation of that visit and all consequential visits.

If your roommate intentionally and purposefully harmed you, find alternative housing and discuss the incident with the police. Again, be sure to obtain proper medical care first and get police documentation of the altercation.

Next, discuss with your roommates whether they have renter’s insurance. Generally, this conversation should happen before the move-in date. Having a solid renter’s insurance policy protects everyone living in the home. If your roommate does have renter’s insurance, find out whether the policy has personal liability coverage. Even if it does, it may exclude cohabitants from the policy.

If your roommate caused your injury, and he or she doesn’t have rental insurance, it may be difficult to pursue a claim. At this point, the best course of action is to discuss your situation with a skilled Houston attorney.

One aspect that may complicate your claim is comparative fault. If your roommate does have insurance, the insurance company may argue that the fault wasn’t just on the roommate, and you bare some of the responsibility, as well.

For instance, if you roommate spills juice on the floor and leaves it, he or she has been negligent. If you slip on it and hit your head or break your arm, the roommate’s inaction caused the injury, and he or she may be responsible. However, if you slipped in the juice in the middle of the night and had neglected to turn on the light, the insurance company could claim a reasonable person would have turned on the light and would therefore not have fallen. In this case, both you and the roommate are partly at fault for the fall.

If your roommate’s carelessness with the property on which you live has caused you injury, you may have a premises liability case. Again, these cases depend on proving that someone was negligent, and that negligence caused your injury. Because comparative fault can also be a part of the equation, it’s best to discuss the aspects of your case with an experienced attorney.

After an injury, it can be difficult to pay your medical bills, especially if you’ve lost time from work. Neglectful roommates who prevent you from living in a safe, injury-free environment may be accountable for their behavior.

When you aren’t sure of the merit of your case, our team of attorneys can guide you through Texas personal injury law to discover if you can be compensated for your injury from another’s neglect. Gordon, Elias, & Seely collect only when we’ve led you to a win. We have experience in all kinds of injury lawsuits, and we know how to handle the insurance companies whose job it is to offer the least amount of compensation.

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