Water damage: who’s the liable for the damages?

Water damage: who’s the liable for the damages?

Water damage is a common occurrence in older buildings. It can be due to burst pipes, faulty water heaters, you name it. But if you suffered property damage due to faulty plumbing in another apartment – are you liable? Who’s liable for water damage? The question of property damage can be difficult to answer.

The rule of thumb

The rule of thumb is that the property owner is responsible for maintaining their property. If Apartment A’s water leakage damaged property in Apartment B, the owner of Apartment A is not necessarily responsible for paying for the damages. Should Apartment B’s owner pay for damages that weren’t his fault?

The case of negligence

No, if the owner of Apartment B can prove that the owner of Apartment A was negligent and that the water damage was due to his negligence in maintaining his apartment it’s a different story. In such a case, the owner of Apartment A would be liable for the damages that were caused in Apartment B. There is a condition though. The owner of Apartment A’s negligence must have directly caused the accident for him to be liable for any water damage in Apartment B. This can be difficult to prove and therefore it might be necessary to get a property damage attorney involved to assess the case.

Contact a lawyer

Linden Law represented an artist whose works suffered water damage due to the negligence of another party. Linden Law managed to win the artists $137 500 in compensation for the damage to his work. If you live in New York and have suffered any damage to your property and you think it may be due to someone else’s negligent behavior, contact Linden Law for a free consultation at (212) 804-8440.