While individuals have a responsibility to keep themselves safe from harm, property owners are required to take necessary precautions to keep their patrons and employees safe from injury. Property owners may be held liable for injuries if they were aware of a potential hazard that was present on their property, yet failed to remedy the situation. An individual who was injured under these conditions may have legal grounds to file a premises liability lawsuit against the property owner.
Our legal team handles a broad range of premises liability cases including:
- Slip and falls
- Trip and falls
- Negligent Security
- Faulty equipment
- Poor Lighting
- Elevator accidents
- Inadequate building maintenance
- Amusement park accidents
Property Owners Have a Duty to Maintain Premises in a Safe Condition.
If the owner was aware of the hazardous situation or environment, but neglected to take action to fix the situation, the property owner may be held liable. Injured victims can file a premises liability lawsuit against the property owner to recover the cost of his or her medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses that resulted from the accident.
However, if the injured party was not acting reasonably under the circumstances, a court may find that the victim was at least partially at fault for the incident. In these circumstances, the plaintiffs’ recovery may be reduced. Premises liability law is complex and varies from state to state. Whether a property owner is liable for any injuries incurred on his or her property depends on the status of the injured party when the injury occurred. Generally, courts distinguish between lawful guests, or “invitees,” and trespassers when determining the level of liability. In some cases, warning guests of a hazard can be enough to avoid liability.
For instance, in some circumstances, it is acceptable to place a warning sign in a visible location to warn of a potential hazard. The most common type of premises liability case is a “slip and fall.” This is when a condition or object on the ground causes an individual to slip and fall and sustain injury. Other premises liability cases include injuries to non-workers on construction sites, prolonged exposure to hazardous conditions in a building, injuries from poor lighting in a parking garage or other area, injuries from backyard equipment such as pools and trampolines and assaults that could have been prevented by adequate security.