Winter and unchecked snow buildup can bring about an insidious danger to your home. For one woman in Tennessee, her life turned upside down unexpectedly after the carport of the home she’s renting collapsed on her. And despite receiving some injuries and having much of her other belongings destroyed, insurance disputes with her landlord led to her and her husband getting evicted.
The incident occurred around January 27 in McNairy County, Tennessee. As you can see in the home camera footage, Elizabeth Keeton was just trying to get inside her home. Apparently, she heard some cracking and thought it was just the ice on the ground, when suddenly, the whole roof of the carport crashed down on her, burying her while she screamed as her husband scrambled to get her out.
Luckily for Keeton, the only injuries she sustained were a concussion and a couple of contusions, though she apparently ot traumatized by the incident. “I don’t pump gas because I am afraid of the awnings. I have PTSD, I wake up some nights crying because every time I close my eyes I just see everything again,” according to Keeton, transcript courtesy of WBBJ TV.
Upon returning home a couple of days after the carport collapsed, Keeton noticed that one of the bedrooms in the house was soaking wet and that there was no water. “I assume there’s a busted pipe somewhere,” recalled Keeton. Needless to say, the damage was apparently more extensive than she thought, as their cars were also damaged.
The Battle with the Landlord
Keeton discussed the matter with her landlord, and unfortunately for her, the insurance will only cover the structure itself, not the vehicles, nor the damaged belongings, as they wouldn’t cover “an act of God.” Because of this, Keeton filed a lawsuit against her landlord, though it appears that, as a result, the landlord has issued an eviction notice to the couple.
The landlord, however, revealed in a statement that “I did say I would help as much as I could and my concern was if she was ok.” When Keeton did inform her landlord of the incident, “She said that she was sorry that it happened,” though the incident has further fueled a comment section debate on who or what is exactly to blame or who’s liable regarding the carport collapse.
Commenters, meanwhile, have chimed in on the matter amid the ongoing legal battle and eviction, with some claiming, “They are by law required to have insurance for renters ! Take that to court or at least call around and see what your options are. Im so glad she was okay!” At the moment, it’s not clear what became of the legal battle between Keeton and her landlord, though the couple has set up a GoFundMe in the meantime.
