Accident in an AIR BNB

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Accident in an AIR BNB

Hi,

 

Looking for some advice.

One of our party members had an accident whilst we were staying an an AirBnB which resulted in Bodily harm.

The host has requested that we pay a security deposit as it was a sink that collapsed and cut the party member. 

Despite several attempts to speak to the host about the sink during the holiday we were brushed to the side. It is not until now, a few days since we have returned which she has communicated to us about the sink and requesting the security deposit.

The cut was actually quite bad, and probably required stitches, however we managed to stop the bleeding and use steristrips. -This however is likely to be scarred. 

This was a complete accident and the sink had actually collapsed under the weight of some toiletries and clothes, so we do have reason to believe it was due to poor workmanship. 


Further note the Host has actually requested more than the security deposit advertised.

 

Where do we as a guest stand with this?

 

Thanks,

1 Best Answer
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@James1738 

If the host want to access your security deposit for payment due to damage, the host has to follow Airbnb procedures as mentioned here:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

If you feel the damage is a result of an unsafe situation, also causing injury, then you can have your say at Airbnb about the claim. Be sure all communication is in the Airbnb message system and have evidence (pictures, etc.. ) available to proof.

Best regards,

Emiel

 

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12 Replies 12
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@James1738 

If the host want to access your security deposit for payment due to damage, the host has to follow Airbnb procedures as mentioned here:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

If you feel the damage is a result of an unsafe situation, also causing injury, then you can have your say at Airbnb about the claim. Be sure all communication is in the Airbnb message system and have evidence (pictures, etc.. ) available to proof.

Best regards,

Emiel

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@James1738  Toiletries and clothing wouldn't have enough weight to cause a sink to collapse. Once, my daughter, when she was young, managed to break the sink off the wall as she was leaning on it with her weight to try to reach something higher up. You seem to indicate that it was another member of your party who had the sink collapse and get hurt. So how can you be sure of what this person was doing that caused the damage? Were you in the bathroom with him when this happened?

Hi Sarah,

 

There is nothing above the sink to lean to reach, and the location of the injury on the body would indicate that there was no leaning of any kind on the sink. 

Also on further inspection of fittings it seemed as the sink and unit had previously collapsed and been temporarily placed back onto the wall whether it be by the host or the guest, however I would not like to make that assumption as I do not want to question the integrity of the host or their previous guests.

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Unless the sink was held on by sellotape, it's unlikely 'some toiletries and clothes' would have caused it to fall off.

 

Likewise, assuming you knew the wound required stitches as you've said, why didn't the injured party go to hospital?

It's hard to understand what went wrong here without the other side of the story (as there always is). That said, you shouldn't have been brushed aside. 

Perhaps share the link so we can see the listing. 

Hi Gordon,

 

Thanks for your reply. I Understand there are two sides to the story, please refer to my reply to Sarah.

 

As mentioned in my post, we stopped the bleeding, and patched up the wound with Steristrips. In Hindsight yes, we probably should have visited a hospital to confirm this as well as contacted our insurance.

In regards to sharing the listing, I will withhold this as it's an ongoing matter.

@James1738  Hosts here on the forum will often ask if someone can send a link to the listing in question, regardless of what the issue is, just so we can see if that host has other reviews mentioning similar things or to see how a host responds to bad reviews. If a host has a history of leaving bad, nit-picky reviews for guests or writes angry, defensive responses, then it gives us an idea of who might be telling the truth and who is fabricating or exaggerating, since we only have the poster's viewpoint. (Believe it or not, hosts often support the guest's view of things here, rather than just sticking together. It's not guests against hosts, we try to see a situation for what is appears to be and advise accordingly. Bad hosts are something none of us want on the platform. And we'll often advise a host who posts about a problem with their guests that the host actually has to do this or that differently, that it's not the guest's fault that something went down the way it did).

We'll also look at the guest's profile to see how their reviews are- if a host accuses them of leaving the place filthy, but the guest has a dozen reviews attesting to how clean the place was left, well, we can figure that out. And sometimes, a guest who is a first time Airbnb user with no reviews has expectations of how things should be that aren't the case.

So that's why another poster would ask for the link, but of course, if you don't feel comfortable about giving it, that's fine.

@James1738 In a damage claim, hosts are not limited to the amount of the so-called "security deposit." If you choose to dispute the claim, a case manager will intervene and the host will be required to submit evidence (receipts, repair invoice, photos, etc). If your attempts to contact the host about the sink were made in the Airbnb messenger, this might work in your favor.

 

The injury that your companion suffered is an altogether separate issue from the damage claim. Airbnb does extend a certain amount of liability insurance to hosts for third-party claims of personal injury, but the injured person chooses to seek compensation for this they'll be dealing with a different department from the one that resolves claims for property damage. 

 

It might not help your cause to bring up the injury in response to the host's damage claim. I'm not clear on what actually happened, but the simplest explanation for how a person would get cut by a collapsing sink is that they were sitting or leaning on it and thereby caused the collapse.

Hi Andrew,

 

Thank you for your response. It's very useful.

Another question I have is, We made it clear that there was an injury to a party member to the host, however the host did not acknowledge this whatsoever. And offered no support or guidance on this. 

Is the host not responsible for ensuring that if a guest is injured on their property that the guest okay? And that the property is still a safe environment?

We as the guests have also not accepted any responsibility for the damage but in the damage claim the host has said that We have, where do we stand with this?

 

Thanks,

James

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@James1738  It's definitely not very professional, not to mention completely uncaring, for the host not to express any concern for the guest's injury. As a host, I'd be asking how is he doing, does he need to see a doctor or go to the emergency room, even if I had reason to believe that it was a result of the guests being rowdy or careless.

@James1738  On a purely human level it is nicer to demonstrate empathy when a person is hurt. But the host does not have a contractual or legal obligation to address a minor injury. In a case like this, it's really up to the guest to attend to their medical needs.

 

It's always possible for something in a home to break and result in injury - I myself have accidentally broken a window in someone's home and cut myself. The fact that the sink collapsed does not in itself mean that the home was categorically unsafe. However, if during your stay you find the property to be unsafe or unsanitary, and the host refuses to fix the problem, your recourse would be to report a Travel Issue to Airbnb, terminate the booking, and receive a refund for the unused nights of your stay under the Guest Refund Policy. After the checkout date, there is no longer any action available to take on this except to leave a review.

 

If your party chose to complete the stay despite the broken sink and not obtain immediate medical attention, the injury is effectively a moot point as far as Airbnb is concerned. But I do hope that your friend sees a doctor to make sure the wound is properly treated.

 

As for the damage claim, the host can't demonstrate that your party accepted responsibility unless they have evidence of this in your written correspondence. 

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

I had a guest who was a seasoned Airbnber. About 5 minutes after I showed her to her room, she called me up to point out that there was a loose shelf in the closet. I had actually noticed it when I was cleaning, and had forgotten to replace the screw, it was just a small shoe shelf close to the floor, it wouldn't have injured anyone even if it had totally fallen off. But I thought that was really smart of her- she wasn't complaining, just wanted me to be aware that she didn't cause the damage.

Of course a guest can't check over every little thing in a listing that might not be okay, or ready to break, but I think it's a great idea for guests to have a look around after checking in and contact the host ASAP with a photo, or if they are in a private room, the host can just come take a look. It would cut down on disputes if more guests were savvy enough to do this. Sometimes a host isn't even aware of a problem if previous guests haven't mentioned it.

Hi All,

 

@Sarah977 @Anonymous @Gordon0 @Emiel1 

 

Thank you for your replies. We appreciate your advice and comments on the scenario.

I have contacted my insurance and they will now support us through this process. 

For any other guests or hosts who find themselves in this situation, I recommend you do take out insurance before you stay with an Airbnb. As well as this collect as much evidence as you possibly can as this will help you with any claims. Luckily for us we do have enough evidence to support our claim