When you go vacationing, you hope that the place you are staying at is as safe as possible. However, riverside properties overlooking Clinch River or remote rural houses can have their own sets of dangers. Luckily, Tennessee gives you the tools to seek compensation when you are injured at an Airbnb due to someone else’s negligence.
When someone is hurt at a short-term rental, the case usually turns on who controlled the property and the condition that caused the injury, because responsibility can rest with many different parties. A short-term rental case is governed by the duty to keep the property reasonably safe, but the core of it is to establish who controlled the property.
At Fox & Farmer, we have represented personal injury victims across Roane County for decades. If you were injured at a short-term rental and wonder whether you are owed compensation, contact us: the first consultation is free.
Home injuries are common, with the NSC reporting over 30 million medical consultations for preventable home injuries in 2024 alone. But it is not the same to be hurt in one’s place as it is to be hurt on someone else’s property, and the law contemplates those cases.
The legal foundation of a short-term rental case is the same duty that governs any premises claim: whoever controlled the property owed a duty to use reasonable care to keep it safe and to warn of hidden dangers. What makes a rental case distinct is that control may be divided, so the first task is to determine who was responsible for the condition that caused the injury.
The host who owns the property is usually the central party, responsible for the safety of the home and its features, but a property manager hired to maintain or operate the rental may share that responsibility, and in some situations a maintenance or cleaning service may bear a part as well.
Determining who controlled the relevant condition is what identifies the responsible party. A host is generally responsible for the safety of the structure, stairs, deck, pool, and dock, and for warning guests of hidden dangers.
If a professional manager handles the property, they may share the duty to inspect and maintain it. If the manager was responsible for the upkeep of the feature that failed (a loose railing they should have fixed, a pool that they were hired to maintain), that responsibility can be central to the claim.
The rental platform itself, such as Airbnb or Vrbo, typically positions itself as a venue connecting hosts and guests rather than as the property's operator, so its direct responsibility is usually limited, though its records can be important evidence.
Sorting out this structure, and identifying who controlled the condition that caused the injury, is the central work of the case, the same control-and-knowledge analysis that governs any Kingston premises liability claim.
The insurance picture follows the structure. A host typically carries homeowner's or landlord's insurance, a professional manager carries its own coverage, and some hosts hold short-term-rental policies or coverage offered through the platform, so identifying who controlled the property also points to the policies that may respond.
More than one may apply where responsibility is shared, and reaching each is part of building a recovery that matches a serious injury.
It may. Airbnb has historically offered host liability insurance providing up to a million dollars in coverage for certain guest-injury claims. Vrbo offers its own comparable liability protection to its hosts. Identifying and pursuing every applicable source is part of the case.
Tennessee applies modified comparative fault, the rule from McIntyre v. Balentine, under which an injured person recovers only if found less than 50 percent at fault, with the recovery reduced by the share assigned and barred entirely at 50 percent or more.
As in any premises case, the question is whether the responsible party knew or should have known of the dangerous condition and failed to use reasonable care to address or warn of it, and the host or manager's insurer will work to shift blame onto the guest, so establishing what happened is the foundation of the claim.
The proof follows the familiar premises logic, adapted to a rental. It includes the condition that caused the injury, the host's knowledge of it, whether through prior incidents, the property's history, or the obviousness of the defect, and whether the guest was warned.
The rental listing and its photographs, the messages between host and guest, the reviews that may mention a hazard, and the maintenance records can all be evidence of what the host knew and whether the property was safe.
A guest lawfully renting a property is owed a duty of reasonable care, and where a host let a known hazard persist, the failure establishes responsibility. The rental context can actually make the host's knowledge easier to show than in some premises cases, because hosts can document the condition of a feature and whether problems had been raised before.
A review mentioning a wobbly dock or a prior guest's complaint about a hazard can be powerful evidence that the host knew. Answering the argument that the guest was careless takes the concrete proof of the condition and the host's knowledge of it.
A guest in an unfamiliar property cannot be expected to know its hidden dangers the way the host does, and the law accounts for that. The host, who knows the property and its quirks, carries the duty to warn of dangers a guest would not discover on their own, and a failure to give that warning is itself part of the case.
Where a host violates a safety statute meant to protect occupants, such as the smoke alarm requirement, that violation may support a negligence per se theory, which can shift what the injured guest has to prove about the standard of care.
Should you get a burn injury while operating a faulty gas appliance at a short-term rental, a burn injury lawyer in Kingston might be able to help you pursue compensation.
It can be the individual host, a property management company, a maintenance or cleaning service, or more than one, depending on who controlled the condition that caused the injury. The first step in an Airbnb injury claim is to identify the right party.
The short-term rentals around Kingston are often lake properties, and the waterfront setting brings hazards that figure prominently in these cases. The table below sets out the conditions that most often cause serious injury at a lake rental.
| Hazard | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Docks and boathouses | Rotted boards, missing railings, inadequate lighting, unstable structures |
| Swimming pools and hot tubs | Missing barriers, no depth markings, drains, slippery surfaces |
| Decks and stairs | Deteriorated wood, loose railings, steep or uneven steps |
| Water access and drowning | Unsecured access, deep water, no safety equipment or warnings |
| Carbon monoxide | Faulty heaters, generators, or appliances in cabins |
Waterfront features are the defining risk of a lake rental. Docks and boathouses deteriorate in the water and weather and can have rotted boards, missing railings, or poor lighting; pools and hot tubs require proper barriers, markings, and maintenance; and the water itself poses a drowning risk, especially to children, where access is not secured, or no warnings or safety equipment are provided.
Beyond the water, carbon monoxide is a serious hazard in cabins and lake houses with fuel-burning heaters, fireplaces, generators, or appliances. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes how dangerous carbon monoxide is, which makes a working detector essential and its absence a serious failing.
Safety devices carry particular importance in a rental that guests are unfamiliar with: Tennessee law requires working smoke alarms in residential rental property under Tennessee Code section 68-102-151.
Although carbon monoxide detectors are not required by law, if a victim can prove that the absence of one caused an injury, the absence of an alarm could reflect a failure of the duty to keep the property safe. A host who rents a lake property has a duty to address these hazards or warn of them, and a failure to do so is what a serious rental-injury case is built on.
Yes. A guest's unfamiliarity does not bar recovery; in fact, it heightens the host's duty to warn of non-obvious hazards. An insurer may raise it on comparative fault, but a hidden danger the host should have disclosed supports the claim.
Compensation in a serious short-term rental case must capture the full extent of the harm, which, given the hazards of a lake property, can be severe. Tennessee law allows recovery for economic damages (the measurable financial losses) and non-economic damages (the human losses of pain and suffering, disability, and the loss of consortium).
A fall from a dock or deck, a drowning or near-drowning, or carbon monoxide poisoning can cause catastrophic, life-altering injury, and these cases are frequently serious. A near-drowning that deprives the brain of oxygen can cause permanent neurological damage; carbon monoxide poisoning can leave lasting cognitive and cardiac effects; and a fall from a height onto rocks or a dock can cause severe head, spine, and orthopedic injuries.
The economic damages include past and future medical care, the income lost during recovery, and the lost earning capacity where an injury prevents a return to work. The injuries common to these cases frequently require long treatment and can leave permanent disability, and their future cost is usually the largest part of the claim.
The non-economic damages account for the pain and suffering, the permanent disability or disfigurement, and the loss of the life a person was able to live before. These damages are capped under state law at $750,000 or $1,000,000 for catastrophic injuries, under Tennessee Code section 29-39-102.
In Kingston, a seriously injured person is typically taken to the nearest emergency room at Roane Medical Center, the Covenant Health hospital in Harriman about ten miles to the northeast, since Kingston has no hospital of its own, and the most serious injuries are stabilized and transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, about thirty-six miles to the northeast.
A serious short-term rental injury is one form of the broader harms in any Kingston personal injury claim, measured by the same full account of past and future loss.
Where a rental injury proves fatal, as a drowning or carbon monoxide poisoning tragically can, the family's Kingston wrongful death case pursues the responsible parties while measuring a far heavier loss. A grieving spouse might file a claim of this type, which also compensates for the loss of consortium, another type of non-economic damage, that covers the loss of companionship, affection, intimacy, and household services.
Being injured as a visitor does not limit these rights; a Tennessee claim proceeds under Tennessee law regardless of where the guest lives. Of course, no outcome is ever promised, and the facts always govern, but pursuing every applicable coverage and every category is how a serious rental injury claim is made whole.
Get medical care promptly, both for your health and because the medical record documents the injury and ties it to what caused it. Some injuries are not fully apparent at first, and carbon monoxide exposure in particular can cause symptoms that are easy to mistake for something else, so prompt evaluation protects both your recovery and your claim.
Next, document the hazard and the property: photograph the condition that caused the injury before you leave, since you may not have access to it afterward. Preserve the rental listing, your booking records, and any messages with the host, which can establish what was represented about the property and what the host knew of its condition.
Note whether safety equipment or warnings (a pool barrier, a dock railing, a smoke detector) were present or absent. The absence of a basic safety device is itself important evidence, because these are inexpensive, expected precautions, and a host who rented a lake property without them has fallen short of the duty to keep the property reasonably safe. Documenting what was missing at the time, before anything is added afterward, preserves proof of that failure.
Gather the names and contact information of anyone who witnessed the injury or was staying with you. Be cautious with the host's or manager's insurer: do not give a recorded statement or accept an early settlement before you have advice.
Then reach out to an Airbnb injury lawyer in Kingston promptly, so that your claim can be better protected. These claims can be quite complex, so legal representation can be of great help to strengthen your case.
As with most personal injury claims in Tennessee, prompt action is usually the best course of action, since the state has a one-year limit for filing a personal injury claim, according to Tennessee Code section 28-3-104. However, section 28-3-104(a)(2) states that if criminal charges arise from the conduct that caused the injury, the deadline can extend to two years.
One year from the date of the injury to file, under Tennessee Code section 28-3-104. If criminal charges arise out of the same conduct, the deadline extends to two years under section 28-3-104(a)(2). And a child's own claim is tolled during minority under section 28-1-106, so the one-year clock does not simply run out while a child is still a minor.
It depends on who controlled the condition that caused the injury. The host who owns the property is usually the central party, but a property manager who maintains or operates the rental may share responsibility, and sometimes a maintenance or cleaning service does. Identifying who controlled the relevant condition is the first step.
Usually their direct responsibility is limited, because the platforms position themselves as venues connecting hosts and guests rather than as the operators of the property. However, Airbnb has historically offered host liability insurance providing up to $1,000,000 in coverage for certain guest-injury claims. Vrbo offers its own comparable liability protection to its hosts.
Around Kingston, the waterfront features are the main concern: docks and boathouses with rotted boards or missing railings, pools and hot tubs without proper barriers, the drowning risk of unsecured water access, and carbon monoxide from fuel-burning appliances in cabins. A host has a duty to address or warn of these.
Water hazards are especially dangerous to children, and a host who provides waterfront access or a pool has a heightened responsibility to secure it and warn of the danger. These cases are among the most serious, and the same control-and-knowledge analysis applies to identify who was responsible for the unsafe condition.
You can still recover as long as your share of the fault stays below 50 percent, with the recovery reduced by your share. Because the host's insurer will try to push that share up, establishing the hazardous condition and the host's knowledge of it protects the claim.
It depends on the severity of the injury, the past and future medical costs, the lost income and earning capacity, and the non-economic harm. A catastrophic injury from a fall, a near-drowning, or carbon monoxide poisoning, with lasting effects, is worth far more than the early bills alone, especially where the harm is permanent and the future care substantial.
It depends on each law firm, but Fox & Farmer works on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney fee unless you recover. The first consultation is free.
Kingston is the seat of Roane County, so a serious short-term rental injury suit is generally brought right here in the Roane County court: the circuit court sits at the courthouse on East Race Street.
The family can bring a wrongful death claim, generally within one year of the injury that caused the death, recovering both the family's losses and the person's own harm.
Yes. An injury at a Tennessee property is a Tennessee claim under Tennessee law, regardless of where you live, and a local attorney can handle it for you.
From years of experience across Roane County and the wider Knoxville area, our attorneys know how to identify who controlled a rental property, how the hazards of the area's lake properties figure in these cases, and the workings of the Roane County courts where a case is filed.
A short-term rental case is won by establishing who controlled the property, proving the failure to keep it safe or to warn of the danger, and documenting the full extent of the harm. At Fox & Farmer, we build each case to do all three: securing the listing, records, and evidence of the property's condition early. The goal is a recovery that reflects the true cost of the injury, grounded in who controlled the property and what they knew.
Because the evidence of the property's condition is best secured early, the sooner you reach out, the more we are able to do. Your consultation is free, and you owe no fee unless we recover. Contact our team or call 865-531-9400 to tell us what happened.
Last reviewed: June 2026
This page was reviewed by Sandy Gothard, licensed in Tennessee since 1996.
