We had a tenant severely injure themselves last night. Long story short –tenant unconscious when paramedics arrived and lots of blood remains on the floor. Tenant now in hospital, and still unconscious. Unclear what happened but, police confirm no attack and no intended suicide.

I spoke with Tenants daughter this morning and she called “Aftermath” for clean-up.

Aftermath telling me – “Apartment is now uninhabitable due to biohazard and Landlord is responsible for cleanup cost ”.

I objected to their interpretation of responsibility but, agreed to meet Aftermath with the tenants family at the apartment this afternoon.

My thought is to assist the family with obtaining clean up quote(s) and approve access to property for doing so.

Any advice, next steps and or precautions on liability appreciated

thank you

That's good. Keep it close. Again, with something as out-of-the-ordinary like this I would get legal advice before doing anything.

It's unfortunate at all that it happened, of course, but on the weekend makes it tougher.

Something is off here. Is there a police report? If so, get a copy today. Is there anything amiss in the unit, like a broken stair, or railing, or other clue of how the “severe injury” occurred. I’d want an answer to this before agreeing to anything.

P.S., you can safely clean up a big pile of blood safely with $20.00 worth of rubber gloves, safety glasses, a disposable smock, sponge, bucket, Mr. Clean, and throw it all away in a garbage bag or two.

Let's say a tenant cuts himself by accident with a knife in the kitchen, with the results that you mentioned. Very plausable here.

If that's the case, legally speaking that would most likely be the tenant's fault.

I wouldn't involve your insurance company unless you are sure that you are at fault. That could be opening a can of worms.

With something like this, legal advice is your best bet.

you couldn't pay me enough to meet with or deal with a company like that. blood is blood. unless he is oozing HIV or something else communicable, it's no big deal.

What is aftermath? How to enforce rental insurance?

Don't move too quickly. Just because someone else says something does not make it so. If clean it up myself after ambulance and medics cleared scene. Police said no attack is good. Tenant probably fell and hit their head on furniture. It happens. Don't assume it's your fault. Take lots of pictures.

Oh, good grief.

Do you know how many times I have cleaned up blood, urine, poo, vomit, etc?

Pellets to soak up any liquid, gloves and lab apron and safety glasses if desired. Sweep, then mop, then scrub if needed.

I had a tenant who would not listen. They had shoes with leather soles that would cause them to slip and fall. We are talking about a 70 year old women who had to dress to kill, although with slippery shoes she was only trying to kill herself.

So I purchased designer bathroom mats to put around the toilet, sink and tub/shower floor areas. This tenant took these three mats outside to hose them off and let dry. They she washed the bathroom floor and slid while trying to sit down on the toilet. She also installed a cabinet above the toilet without my permission -- hit her head on the handles and needed stitches.

I was sent the ambulance bill and her out of pocket medical expenses. She did not put in a claim to her renters insurance either.

So I had my attorney send a letter to all parties and then had to sue in small claims court. With pictures of the mats outside and a wet bathroom floor and pictures of her shoe collection, it was easy to win my case....

So the next time a dangerous situation presented itself, I issue a 5 day notice to cure violation or quit.

Why would Tenant's daughter call a crime scene/biohazard cleaning company instead of just cleaning up the mess? If Tenant's daughter requested the Aftermath quote, I would expect Tenant's daughter to pay for the services she sought to engage. Does Tenant's daughter have a friend or relative who works at Aftermath that she is trying to throw some business to?

I second JR's advice to clean up with rubber gloves. Remove all visible biological fluids with paper towels or disposable rags. For the daughter's peace of mind, soak area with bleach/ water solution and let stand for 20 minutes to kill HIV and/or Hepatitis. If the blood is on carpet, you may need to replace the carpet and pad.

OK, I would probably use a specialty service. There was one down the street a few months ago where there was a stabbing near the two four plexes I used to own, in one of the other eight four plexes on the street.

Clean up is really on the tenant. If they cut themselves otherwise and bled, they would clean that up. There may not be any liability on your part for the accident. There are many instances of people losing consciousness and falling, which is where they injure themselves. Yes maybe they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but this can also happen with a health condition. It is not that uncommon. Sometimes a battery of tests gives no conclusive evidence of why they "fainted" and it never happens again.

If the tenant is coming back to the unit, it isn't a bio hazard to them. If they are not coming back, just give it a good cleaning and rent.

Had a tenant apparently attempt suicide the Sunday of Thanksgiving week-end. I didn't get a phone call about it until the following Wednesday.

An aunt calls (who is also an insurance agent) & wants the owner to cover the cost of bio clean up with his insurance. Now I'm feeling bad for this kid but what?? She had already arranged for disaster clean up, they were to be there the next day. I didn't commit to anything regarding costs. Frankly, not my circus, not my monkeys other than the unit needs cleaned up & neither I nor the owner is responsible for it.

The hubs meets the disaster guy. Quote is $5K+ to clean up. Small area, blood spatter, tissue on corner of carpet & walls.

We allowed access for clean up. We've kept our mouths shut & haven't offered to pay for anything & haven't been re-contacted to pay for anything. Owner is a little miffed that they expected him to pay for clean up. Parents continue to pay his rent & utilities. No notice to terminate early at this point but the lease is coming up for renewal & now I'm probably gonna be the bad guy by contemplating not inviting him to stay.

"Aftermath telling me – “Apartment is now uninhabitable due to biohazard and Landlord is responsible for cleanup cost ”.

You have no business even communicating anymore with a business like this.

Landlord is responsible because they know it will be easier to get paid by you.

Thank you all for your advice and experience. While we have been land lording for 25+ yrs - there is a first time for everything. Having the Mr Landlord Q/A resource is most comforting and reinforced our thinking/actions as we worked through this incident.

The final solution;

Tenant family hired their own cleaning crew using basic cleaning procedures.

Lesson worth sharing; The specialty company know as Aftermath prescribed a $7000 ++ fix that included ripping up hardwood flooring. Their quote did not include replacement flooring and I can see several unpriced issues in their proposal primed for $Xtras..

Thanks again,

son tells me; Mom was on blood thinners - an artery burst in her leg. We are all praying for the best but, she is still unconscious.

curious too. But, ambulance chaser is probably the answer