After a fall or other injury at an apartment complex, you may feel like the dangerous condition appeared out of nowhere. However, many hazards do not develop overnight. Uneven sidewalks, broken handrails and holes in common areas often remain in place long enough for someone to notice and report them.
If you believe a property owner should bear responsibility for your injury, one important question is whether they knew about the problem before the accident happened.
Here are some types of evidence that may help answer that question.
Previous complaints can show the problem was already reported
Arizona laws require landlords to maintain safety conditions on their property. If residents complained about the same hazard before your accident, that may suggest management was aware of the issue. For example, a tenant may have reported a loose handrail or repeatedly requested repairs to a damaged walkway.
Written complaints often carry particular weight because they create a timeline of when residents raised concerns. When several people report the same condition over time, property managers may have a harder time claiming they never knew about the problem.
Repair records can show recurring issues
Work orders and repair requests can reveal how management handled safety concerns on the property. These records may show that maintenance staff identified a hazard, attempted repairs or returned to the same location multiple times.
Imagine that several maintenance requests were submitted for the same stairway over the course of a year. Even if maintenance crews completed some work, that pattern could suggest that the underlying problem continued to create safety concerns.
Photos and witnesses can help fill in the gaps
Not every dangerous condition leaves behind a paper trail. In some situations, photographs and witness accounts can help show how long a dangerous condition existed before the accident.
A neighbor may recall seeing the same crack in a sidewalk for weeks. A photograph taken before the incident may show that a hole in the ground remained visible long enough for someone responsible for the property to discover and address it.
Next steps
Evidence often becomes harder to find as time passes. Photos get deleted, witnesses move away and records become more difficult to locate. Taking pictures of the area, reporting the hazard and keeping information related to the accident can help preserve details that support your claim.
If you have questions about a property owner’s responsibility, speaking with an attorney early can help you identify useful evidence and better understand your legal options.