[gb29]

I live in the State of New York. I live in a apartment build, well it is a house with two apartments. There is only one entrance and that is the same entrance you use to exit. Before you can go inside the apartment, you got to step on to the porch. The porch used to have two post for you to hold on to. But now it has one. because the porch is no good....and that post had rot off until it just broke off. Instead of the landlord/owner fixing it, which would probably take up 10-15minutes of his time and a few nails and screws. he just layed it along side the porch. It has been broken since Sept of 2006. It is now winter over here and the steps on the porch steps has ice and snow and it is very slippery. Few Mornings ago i was walking off of the porch and slipped and broke my arm. If that post was there i could of had some support to hold on to so i wouldnt have fallen, but that wasnt there and i landed on my arm and broke it. Could I sue my landlord for negligence and pain and suffering? Also if i have pictures and people such as the mail carrier and other tenants to back my story up about it being broken since Sept. of 2006.

[jdmba]

Below I pasted something that addresses your problem. I didn't write it myself, but it sums things up pretty well. Also, it isn't NY specific, but I suspect that NY law pretty much follows this...

Is my landlord liable if I'm injured on the rental property? What if a visitor is injured?

A landlord may be liable to you--or others--for injuries caused by dangerous or defective conditions on the property you rent. In order to hold the landlord responsible, however, you must be able to prove several things:

(1) that the landlord had control over the problem that caused the injury
(2) that the accident was foreseeable
(3) that fixing the problem would not have been unreasonably expensive or difficult, and
(4) that a serious injury was the probable consequence of not fixing the problem.

For example, if you fall and are hurt on a broken front door step, the landlord will be liable if:

(1) It was the landlord's responsibility to maintain the steps (this would usually be the case, because the steps are part of the common area, which is the landlord's responsibility).
(2) You could prove that an accident was foreseeable (falling on a broken step is highly likely).
(3) You could show that the repair was relatively easy.
(4) You can prove that the probable result of a broken step is a serious injury (a fall certainly qualifies).