Many condominium complexes have some alluring elements that draw in visitors and residents, including outright trespassers and residents’ guests. There will eventually be non-residents in your HOA community, which means there is a risk of injury. This risk exists whether there is a neighborhood swimming pool or body of water, a playground, a fitness center, a community room, or even just a footpath through the community that draws pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders, which raises the issue of whether the HOA is responsible for that person’s injuries if they occur.
The response will rely on a variety of factors related to the issue. An HOA lawyer can offer more advice regarding your particular scenario, but these are some factors that will be examined. Contacting flagstaff hoa management services can be of help.
What Kind of Connection Did the Injured Person Have to the HOA Community?
The laws of your state generally govern personal injury law. Still, some fundamental rules apply to all jurisdictions, one of which is that responsibility will frequently depend in part on how the injured party was related to the HOA Community.
The legal level of care will be relatively low than what would be implemented in a circumstance such as a hotel and a guest or a store and a client, where there is an obligation on the part of the landowner to make appropriate efforts to seek out dangers on the land and address them.
Most people invited to visit an HOA community are trying to be there as social guests instead of business guests. The legal standard of care for social guests is lower: a property owner must take action to address risks that it is aware of but is not obligated by law to look for undiscovered risks.
Was the person’s injury the result of the HOA’s breach of a legal obligation?
The next question to be addressed is whether the individual was truly hurt due to a foreseeable fallout from the HOA’s breach of its legal obligation to the injured victim. This sounds like his irresponsibility and has nothing to do with the HOA’s actions if a cyclist is hurt after falling off his bike while doing a no-handed, blindfolded wheelie all around the perimeter of the HOA bike route.
On the other hand, there may be a stronger argument that a legal duty was broken, leading to the accident, if a bicyclist was hurt because a condo employee carelessly erected a clothesline across the bike lane.
