Fullerton Fire Safety and Egress Violation Lawyer

When smoke or flames arise in your apartment building, visible exit signs, audible alarms, and open evacuation routes should guide you to safety. However, the absence of these measures severely threatens your ability to escape harm.

No one should have to endure the sheer panic of not knowing how to evacuate in an emergency. A Fullerton fire safety and egress violation lawyer can help you pursue justice by holding your landlord accountable. At CD Law, our habitability attorneys aim to identify and prevent inadequate safety features on rental properties.

Pursuing a Premises Liability Claim

The city follows state premises liability law for injuries caused by unsafe fire-safety evacuation routes and exits. Under California Civil Code § 1941.1, rental property owners have a duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. Part of that responsibility includes inspecting the building for fire hazards and ensuring that safety alarms, exits, and evacuation routes are functional.

According to Civ. Code § 1714, a landlord is responsible for property-related injuries when they know or should have known of an unsafe condition and fail to fix it or create a warning about it within a reasonable time. If a hazard existed long enough for a reasonable inspection to reveal it, the landlord is responsible even if they were unaware of it. To recover damages for a fire safety and escape route violation, our Fullerton lawyers can help you file a claim for premises liability within the two-year deadline in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1.

Means of Egress in Rentals

The California Code of Regulations § 3215 establishes means of egress requirements for rental properties. Compliance with these safety standards is paramount for tenant security. For example, exit paths and signs must be visible, even during power failures, per Code Reg. § 3216. Evacuation stairwells and exit routes must be open and accessible, according to Code Reg. § 3227, and exit paths must be no longer than 75 to 100 feet, per Code Reg. § 3222.

Local ordinances may impose even stricter requirements than state law for specific types of buildings, such as older apartment complexes or commercial warehouses.

While investigating your fire safety and exit violation claim, our Fullerton attorneys may search for common failures that prevented safe evacuation. These include:

• Locked or bolted doors
• Blocked corridors
• Non-compliant stairwells
• Inadequate alarms

Our legal team can assist you in gathering this information to build a case for negligence against the landlord.

What Damages Can You Recover After an Injury?

Recoverable compensation for an injury from a premise violation includes economic, non-economic, and tenancy-specific damages. Economic damages include financial losses from burn treatments, smoke inhalation therapy, lost wages, and loss of future earning capacity. Non-economic damages refer to emotional harm and include post-traumatic stress disorder, scarring, and disfigurement.

Recoverable tenancy-specific damages are partial rent refunds for the time the property was unsafe in accordance with Civ. Code § 1941.1. Under Civ. Code § 1942.4, you may be eligible for an award of penalties, including attorney’s fees, if the landlord fails to fix an unsafe condition within 35 days. Our Fullerton legal team can help determine what damages you could recover for your fire safety and escape violations claim.

Contact Our Fullerton Lawyers About Your Fire Safety and Exit Violation Claim Today

You should always be able to find your way out of a building in an emergency. When your safety is at risk, a Fullerton fire safety and egress violation lawyer knows the law is on your side.

At CD Law, we understand that faulty exit signs or blocked pathways are serious threats to your safety, and we make it our mission to hold building owners accountable. Call us today for your free consultation.