In 2009, the California Superior Court awarded an air-conditioning deliveryman $5,235,000 when the maintenance elevator he was riding in a San Francisco high rise made a sudden stop causing him to fall. The Plaintiff suffered a lower back injury requiring reconstructive spinal surgery resulting in his inability to return to work. Because the owner of the building had not insisted the elevator company come to assess the elevator, the jury found them 75% liable for the man’s injuries while the company received 25% of the blame.

The decision means that owners of investment property cannot delegate the responsibility to maintain their building in a reasonably safe condition. Now, owners can be charged with negligence even if their independent contractor failed to discover a defect in the property.

Owners of investment property need to maintain adequate liability insurance at all times. In this case, a back injury requiring surgery resulted in more than $5 million dollars in damages. Liability insurance is relatively inexpensive and the protection is well worth the premiums if a serious problem arises. Trustee services will guarantee your investment properties are well insured and managed by first-rate companies.