ABA Family Legal Guide

Personal Injury

Negligence

Injuries at Your Home and on Your Property

A furniture delivery person was injured when he tripped over an electrical extension cord in my living room. Can he recover damages from me?

He could sue, though it is not certain that he would win. As noted in the sidebar "Different Strokes for Different Folks?", until recently, your liability for someone's personal injuries while at your home hinged on why he or she was there. If people were doing work for you, the law held that you had a special duty to make your home reasonably safe. In those situations, a court would have asked if the cord was dangerous to anyone who came into your living room, or was it only dangerous if someone moved your furniture? Did you warn the delivery person to watch out for the cord? Courts would need the answers to such questions to decide if you are liable to the delivery person. A growing trend would make you liable for the injury only if you failed to exercise a general duty of care.