Are you actively preventing premises liability? Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone was injured on your property? As an owner, you must become familiar with the processes and procedures of premises liability in preparation for any potential cases.
What is Premises Liability?
This is a legal concept that’s most common in personal injury cases where an individual is injured on someone’s property due to some defective or unsafe element. In most cases, this is caused by negligence. To win a case, the affected party must usually prove that the injury was caused by the property owner’s negligence for the safety and care of the area where the incident took place.
Property Owner’s Responsibilities
The property owner’s responsibilities can vary by state. Still, for the most part, owners are expected to exercise reasonable care and maintenance of their property to ensure it’s a safe space for visitors. Visitors are generally divided into three categories:
- Invitees: Visitors that have the property owner’s permission to enter, such as family and friends.
- Licensees: Visitors that have permission but are entering for their own purposes, such as workers or salespeople.
- Trespassers: Someone that doesn’t have permission to enter the property.
As a property owner, you are responsible for fixing any issues and notifying visitors of potential hazards.
What Can Cause a Premises Liability Claim?
Generally, anything that results in the injury of a visitor on your property as a result of negligence. Common reasons include:
- Slipping and falling: Mostly due to wet floors, cracked pavements, poorly fitted carpets, and loose steps.
- Building security: This mainly applies to apartment and commercial buildings. Property owners must ensure that there is appropriate security in place to help stop break-ins and unwanted visitors causing damage and physical harm.
- Swimming pool incidents: Someone that accidentally falls into a pool and gets injured could make a premises liability claim if you failed to ensure the pool was safely protected.
Why Involve a Personal Injury Attorney
If you’re planning to go ahead with a premises liability case due to injury on someone else’s property, hiring a personal injury attorney is a fantastic way to increase your chances of success. An experienced professional will know the processes and will be able to guide you through everything you need to build a strong case. For the most part, they will do the leg work for you, including investigation, collecting proof documents and records, calculating how much damage was caused, and negotiating an appropriate monetary settlement.
Preventing Premises Liability Cases
To avoid any headaches, you should ensure that your property is always safe for visitors. This includes keeping it clean, fixing broken elements that can cause injury (such as loose steps), and notifying visitors of danger, such as wet or oily floors. If you have a commercial property, ensure that regular checks and maintenance are done. This will allow workers to fix issues and identify any potential future problems.
Injured on a property? You need proper representation. Contact ZT Law today!