Tenant Injury Due to Fire

[Brad Peck]

Recently, a socket caught fire in my rental property and the tenant was injured while putting out the fire. What can I expect from a contractual, insurance, or "unofficial" legal standpoint regarding the tenant's injuries?

I rented out my first property about six months ago. The property was in good condition but a socket caught fire while the tenant was using the dining room as an office. The damage was minor and only affected the socket and about 3 feet of sheetrock; however, the tenant put the electrical fire out with his hand. His injury resulted in a minor burn on his hand.

The tenant had the fire department inspect the area as well as an electrician associate (the tenant works in residential restoration). The story is that the socket was not in use at the time and combusted due to how the builder ran the lines to the sockets. (My independent electrician stated that socket was most likely faulty). A fire exstinguisher was provided but was located in the garage and was not used to extinguish the fire. The rental agreement is the standard Texas Apartment Application.

Below, is a copy of the exact verbiage in the agreement:

"INDEMNIFICATION. Landlord shall not be liable for any damage or injury of or to the Tenant, Tenant's family, guests, invitees, agents or employees or to any person entering the Premises or the building of which the Premises are a part or to goods or equipment, or in the structure or equipment of the structure of which the Premises are a part, and Tenant hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and hold Landlord harmless from any and all claims or assertions of every kind and nature."

The damage was not enough to file with my insurance and the tenant did not seek medical attention after the event. That said, I am wondering what to expect and how to responsibily react when handling this situation. I am not looking for official legal advice at the moment, just some advice from members if anyone has ever experienced this situation (or anyone in the future that can use this post).

Thanks 

[Deanna McCormick]

You should have notified your insurance company and told them of the fire, the injury and you should probably still do this.. the tenant could still file a claim, you state the damage wasn't that great, but knowing there was a injury you should have notified them.

If the cause of the "socket fire" was due to overuse by tenant, or bad wiring it needs to be addressed and you should probably have a electrician check it out completely.

A fire caused by tenant in my game is given notice of non-renewal and or notice to vacate.

You have insurance for a reason. If you notify agent of injury and no claim is filed ... fine... your rates would not be affected,, if you have a fire and chose to do the repairs yourself,,fine,, but the fact the fire dept was called out makes it reason to notify your agent of the situation and then make a qualified decision on how to proceed.