I went out to have a smoke and leaned on the railing like I have been for years and the structural paint finally gave way. Glad I didnt land on the jagged upright piece. Ive complained several times about the rust to management before. I dont know how to go about sueing them or if its even worth it atp.
Tough one if they’ve reported it before, unless they’ve got proof the manager said it was fine. Knowing there may be an issue reduces the responsibility for a legal action.
Also, why would you lean on it if you knew it was rusting. That doesn't change it should've been fixed but seems like OP knew it was a problem. Just happy they didn't get too hurt
Does that really matter? In a sane country you actually have to maintain essential safety features and if something happens the liability shouldn't be on "was this reported?"
A railing doesn't rot away in a year so it's sensible to expect them to be liable for it even with no report.
you do not need to have a record of having warned them, they should have known, honestly go to a few lawyers and listen to them all then pick one you like.
it's only worth it if the possibility of having any medical care paid for and the management held legally accountable sounds good to you:) talk to a lawyer
Aside from all that, are you up to date on your tetanus shots?
Maintenance should have been keeping a closer eye on the external structures which includes balconies, walkways, steps, etc. and informing management of things that need repair or replacing.
I didnt get cut fortunately. It bent over kind of in slow motion with just enough time for me to grab the rail bars behind/beside me and kind of upright myself on the way down so I landed feet first and kind of amaturely rolled sideways and slammed hard onto my side and shoulder. Knocked the wind out of me for good couple of minutes though
So if you have medical bills from it, they would probably be forced to cover those with a stern word from an attorney. Otherwise, unless they do something like refuse to replace it, I don’t see a way to get money out of it the way some people are suggesting.
Since you did this daily. It kinda reminds me of the story of "Garry Hoy". You weren't trying to prove a point about safety. But the repetition of leaning against the railing slowly destroyed the integrity of that high grade rust. If you've never heard of him. I suggest looking him up. Launches himself out a high rise window because he would demonstrate to others how safe the glass was by running and jumping into them. One day, the metal framing gave way and there went Garry. The glass landed next to him, details say it didn't break. So Garry was correct. But that metal, probably should have considered it.
If there are other railings like this on a multi-unit building and the others are in similar condition, other tenants will want to hear your story and perhaps make the complaints rise in volume. Fixing it before those complaints reach the ears of a government inspection will become a high priority.
Go contact an attorney. They will consult for free about civil cases like this. If they recover money they take a percentage. If they don't, you pay nothing.
Money hungry fools in here. He was negligent, leaning against a railing he's complained about multiple times already, falls and doesn't suffer any injury, and now everyone says sue them. Sue for what damages? Immoral in my opinion. Negligent actions have consequences. Stay in your bubble wrapped apartments ding dongs.
If you did fall this post should be on the " win the stupid prize" Reddit thread! It was more than obvious for a long time that the railing was failing.
Honestly though. It’s sad that people only react to problems once it affects themselves rather than preventing it for everyone. And some to all the other tenants.
generally you should talk to a personal injury attorney or similar and usually you can get at least a free consultation. Many of them will work on contingency and only charge you from any settlement they win.
Unfortunately though you might not necessarily have much of a case. This is not the sort of thing that causes emotional pain and suffering and you're really limited to your actual damages. this means being reimbursed for stuff like medical expenses if you have to visit a doctor or get some sort of treatment. It's still worth checking
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u/Im_the_President 2d ago
Do you have records of telling them about the damage? If so they’re on the hook. Def talk to a lawyer.