Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC, protects victims injured in accidents in unsafe and improperly maintained Airbnb and Vrbo rental properties. Our personal injury lawyers offer a free case consultation to all victims in Ventura County. These consultations are confidential and come with no obligation. Contact our office to schedule a case review as soon as possible.
Do I Need a Lawyer After an Accident at My Airbnb?
If you slip and fall at your beach vacation rental property and your injuries are very mild, you may not need the help of a lawyer. But anything more serious should prompt you to call a skilled Ventura County Airbnb Accident Lawyer. With an injury like a broken bone, a back injury, or brain trauma the medical bills multiply and insurance adjusters work even harder to avoid having to accept the responsibility.
Adjusters will point the finger of blame at you and cast doubt on how serious your injuries are. Your accident lawyer protects you from this unfair treatment and builds a strong case to block these shady tactics. Your attorney then demands the maximum in compensation for you and your family.
Common Accident Hazards Left in Airbnb Homes
There are many potential risks when you enter a property and home that you are unfamiliar with. Homes that see a new renter each week can be damaged in ways that aren’t obvious. Landlords or rental management companies can also fail in their duty to inspect properties and let scary issues go without repair for months.
A damaged floor near the front door of a beach home near Oxnard may cause a guest to trip on that first step inside to fracture a kneecap. Someone renting a condo in Thousand Oaks could step out onto a deck and fall because a railing had rotted.
These are just a few of the potential dangers to be found in homes and around apartment and condo complexes:
- Trip-and-Fall Hazards – A leak causing a puddle in a hallway or the kitchen can cause someone to fall. Damaged flooring or a torn rug could also cause a painful slip-and-fall. Landscaping hazards and potholes in driveways are also the responsibility of owners and Airbnb.
- Other Indoor Hazards – Guests must be protected from coming in contact with exposed wiring or receiving any kind of electrical shock. They must be protected from hazardous substances, like harsh chemicals. They must not be left exposed to Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning.
- Stairs and Decking Dangers – Steps shouldn’t have clutter on them that could send someone tumbling downward. Handrails on stairs and on decks must be absolutely secure. Support posts under decks must be in good shape and not ready to collapse when someone steps outside.
- Illness Dangers – The infections and illnesses that bed bugs and other types of bugs can cause. Other germ hazards left around, especially due to uncleanliness can cause hospitalization.
- Pool Hazards – A house with a pool or a community with a pool must make safety and safety equipment a priority to prevent drownings and near-drownings.
- Lapse in Security – Guests should be warned if a neighborhood is at increased risk of crime and assault. Property managers are required to provide proper lighting and security if necessary.
Lawyers for companies like Vrbo will try to claim that you were clumsy and caused your own accident. They may get their own company doctors to say your injuries aren’t as bad as you claim. There are many tactics they’ll use to try to get you to accept much less in a settlement claim than you’ll need to fully recover. Your Ventura vacation rental accident lawyer defends you against this shady behavior and works to get the most out of your injury possible. Because that’s what it takes to rebuild your life after a devastating injury.
Who Can I Hold Responsible If I’m Hurt at My Vacation Rental Property?
Under premises liability law, you can hold homeowners and vacation rental companies financially liable for any accident that their negligence plays a part in causing.
These parties owe you a “duty of care” from the time you arrive on the property, get out of your car, go inside, and until your vacation is over. Property owners, management companies, and those working for them must make sure not to create safety issues. They are also responsible if a previous guest creates a safety issue. If they neglect to inspect for and fix these issues, they are liable if someone gets hurt.
You can ask these parties for help with your physical and financial recovery. In the event of a tragedy and death resulting from a hazard, families are also empowered to file wrongful death lawsuits against companies like Airbnb and seek support for those left behind.
Does Vrbo and Airbnb Provide Accident Insurance?
Yes. Both Vrbo and Airbnb carry one million dollar policies to cover injuries at a rental property. These may or may not be in addition to any coverage a landlord has purchased.
Some homeowners insurance companies cover homes when the owners rent them out. Other insurance companies refuse to provide coverage for homes that are offered to paying guests.
In either case, you don’t have to sign up for insurance coverage when you book a Vrbo or Airbnb home. You are covered automatically when you rent a home from the app.
Compensation Available for Airbnb Injury Victims
Victims must seek every bit of support they can because there’s rarely an exact estimate on how long they’ll take to heal and get back on their feet financially. Victims can also think they’ve healed and end up needing surgery when it’s found a bone didn’t grow back together correctly. Expensive physical therapy could also be required.
Your lawyer makes sure you don’t accept a hastily extended settlement offer that leaves you paying for care out of your own pocket. Your QuirkWins attorney would demand support for your current hardships and any damages expected in the future.
These and other factors would help determine the size of your accident settlement check:
- Current medical bills and estimates on the cost of care expected to be necessary for the future.
- Lifelong support for permanent disfigurement or disability. This may include long-term support if a victim can’t return to work and no longer has a way to support close family members.
- Pain and suffering. Victims can end up with chronic pain that can greatly affect their lifestyles. Emotional trauma is also part of “pain and suffering” damages. Victims must cope with anxiety and depression stemming from a difficult recovery. The loss of enjoyment should also earn additional compensation.
- Past lost wages and benefits in connection with the attack along with any loss of wages reasonably expected to be suffered in the future.
Contact a Ventura Airbnb & Vrbo Accident Lawyer
Schedule a free case review with our Ventura County Airbnb Accident Lawyers here at Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC. We can talk about what happened, how it happened, and how it has affected you or your loved one. After that, we will go over all of the legal options available to you and your family.
Our lawyers want to handle the frustrating negotiations with insurance companies for property owners and property management companies while giving you time to focus on getting better.
If we can’t help you earn more for your case, we’ll tell you that. But if you feel we can secure more for your recovery, you don’t have to worry about finding the money to pay a lawyer. We don’t earn a fee unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement an insurance company must pay you.