My question involves a condominium located in the State of: Maryland
I live in a condo building with balconies. One small problem with these balconies is that there are gaps between the floor planks, so liquids from one balcony easily move to the one below. I recently discovered that the people in the condo above mine use a potty pad on their balcony for their dog. Basically, they let it overflow and urine and feces rained down on my balcony and everything on it. They were nice about the situation, they cleaned everything up and apologized, so I was ready to move on and forget about the situation. I had made the assumption that they would no longer be using the potty pad. I discovered that they planned to continue using the device. I told them that it makes me uncomfortable having a bucket of urine and feces above my head while I am on my balcony, and asked if they would remove the device. They initially protested and claimed they would prevent another incident from happening again, but I told them that wasn't going to work, and they reluctantly agreed to get rid of the potty pad. That was a few days ago. As of today, the device still remains on the balcony, and I don't expect them to remove it.
I'm not concerned about the damage to my property, the furniture and everything is ruined, but it only totaled around $50. However, I am very concerned about this happening again. Not only would it be appalling to have excrement spilled on me while I am out there, but it is a significant health hazard. I also grow fruits and vegetable that I eat on the balcony, and dog feces is known to contain not only harmful bacteria, but also a number of parasites. To top it all off, I am a cancer patient who just underwent a round of radiation therapy, and I do not want to be exposed to any more pathogens than need be. Spilling feces and urine on people with weakened immune systems is a huge health hazard.
At this point, I have talked to the people above me, and I have also communicated with the condo association. I've essentially outlined the events, and asked that the issue be addressed and a rule established to prevent this from happening again. However, I don't expect anything to be done. In the event that the people above me continue to use the potty pad and the condo association doesn't do anything to resolve the issue, I would like to know what my legal options are. These are the potential options I have come up with:
1. Contact that health department and report the people above me as they are clearly in violation of the local law requiring owners to remove their pet's excrement from public or private property. That would require another event as the feces have been cleaned up at this point.
2. Given my medical condition, I would like to know whether it would be reasonable to explain to the people that I would pursue reimbursement for healthcare costs due to infection caused by the dog excrement, not only against the individual owners of the unit, but also against the condo association for refusing to address an obvious health concern. Obviously proving the infection was caused by the dog excrement would be a challenge, but I highly doubt they would be willing to take that risk.
3. Finally, I would like to know whether I could threaten to pursue charges of criminal negligence against the individuals in the unit above mine in the event of an infection caused by the dog excrement. If they were informed of my medical condition and continued to spill feces on not only my furniture, but the food I eat, and potentially even me, I could certainly see how that would be deemed negligence or potentially even recklessness.
Thanks
I live in a condo building with balconies. One small problem with these balconies is that there are gaps between the floor planks, so liquids from one balcony easily move to the one below. I recently discovered that the people in the condo above mine use a potty pad on their balcony for their dog. Basically, they let it overflow and urine and feces rained down on my balcony and everything on it. They were nice about the situation, they cleaned everything up and apologized, so I was ready to move on and forget about the situation. I had made the assumption that they would no longer be using the potty pad. I discovered that they planned to continue using the device. I told them that it makes me uncomfortable having a bucket of urine and feces above my head while I am on my balcony, and asked if they would remove the device. They initially protested and claimed they would prevent another incident from happening again, but I told them that wasn't going to work, and they reluctantly agreed to get rid of the potty pad. That was a few days ago. As of today, the device still remains on the balcony, and I don't expect them to remove it.
I'm not concerned about the damage to my property, the furniture and everything is ruined, but it only totaled around $50. However, I am very concerned about this happening again. Not only would it be appalling to have excrement spilled on me while I am out there, but it is a significant health hazard. I also grow fruits and vegetable that I eat on the balcony, and dog feces is known to contain not only harmful bacteria, but also a number of parasites. To top it all off, I am a cancer patient who just underwent a round of radiation therapy, and I do not want to be exposed to any more pathogens than need be. Spilling feces and urine on people with weakened immune systems is a huge health hazard.
At this point, I have talked to the people above me, and I have also communicated with the condo association. I've essentially outlined the events, and asked that the issue be addressed and a rule established to prevent this from happening again. However, I don't expect anything to be done. In the event that the people above me continue to use the potty pad and the condo association doesn't do anything to resolve the issue, I would like to know what my legal options are. These are the potential options I have come up with:
1. Contact that health department and report the people above me as they are clearly in violation of the local law requiring owners to remove their pet's excrement from public or private property. That would require another event as the feces have been cleaned up at this point.
2. Given my medical condition, I would like to know whether it would be reasonable to explain to the people that I would pursue reimbursement for healthcare costs due to infection caused by the dog excrement, not only against the individual owners of the unit, but also against the condo association for refusing to address an obvious health concern. Obviously proving the infection was caused by the dog excrement would be a challenge, but I highly doubt they would be willing to take that risk.
3. Finally, I would like to know whether I could threaten to pursue charges of criminal negligence against the individuals in the unit above mine in the event of an infection caused by the dog excrement. If they were informed of my medical condition and continued to spill feces on not only my furniture, but the food I eat, and potentially even me, I could certainly see how that would be deemed negligence or potentially even recklessness.
Thanks
Community Rules: Dog Feces from Apartment Above
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