Apartment Landlord question (NY State)?

Question

Story is I had a guest that a tenant brought over and she injured herself on the stairs and decided to sue me. Because I was on vacation at the time my insurance company would not cover because I was not able to tell them in a timely matter. So I had to pay out of pocket. Mind you I do keep maintenance on the building and allow tenants to call me with any problems and have them resolved ASAP. The several questions are

If I put a sign stating "We will not be held responsible for guests/visitors that get injured in this building" In addition with safety signs? is this illegal?

I'm just wondering because the person was a non-tenant and I feel that I have my responsibility is toward the tenant not guests.

Answer 1

Insurance companies are notorious for trying to weasel out of having to pay for claims.  The first thing I would do is check again the fine print on the insurance policy regarding making a claim.

Secondly, I'm not sure what you mean by, "had a guest that a tenant brought over".  Either the person is your guest or the guest of the tenant.  It can't be both. If the person is the guest of the tenant then it is the tenant who may be responsible for what happened.  You may want to check into that.

As far as the sign idea goes sometimes they are not worth the material they are written on.  Just because you put up a sign saying you are "not responsible" doesn't mean the courts would agree with you.  Parking lots for example will say "park at your own risk" or "not responsible for damage or theft".  This often means nothing because often proper security or supervision was not exercised.  

Personally, I think you're wasting your time with the sign idea.

Answer 2

Let's start here...  get a new property and liability insurance company.

If you notified your insurance carrier within a reasonable amount of time from when YOU received the notice, you provided the appropriate notice.  If someone (even a trespasser) is injured on your property, they can file a claim against you well after the incident occurred, so the denial of a claim based on the time for notification is bogus.  Go back to the insurance company and try again with the claim.  I have not had this unpleasant experience, but urban legend has it that truly bad insurance companies deny every claim the first time.  If you get no love with an appeal of the claim, and if the dollar amount in question is material (to you), contact an attorney about going after your insurance carrier.

As for the sign... they don't help - trust me.