How Do Premises Liability Laws Protect Property Owners in the Case of Trip and Fall Accidents?
Premises liability laws protect owners and victims during personal injury lawsuits involving accidents on someone else’s property. Homeowners, businesses, and municipalities are held responsible for negligent actions that lead to accidents and injuries on their premises. If you trip on a loose tile in a supermarket, your trip and fall lawyer can help you recover compensation from the property owner. Here are some of the ways premises liability laws protect property owners and how a lawyer can help prove their negligence:
Negligence and Comparative Negligence
When you get injured on someone else’s property, you can sue them for medical bills, property damages, pain and suffering, and other losses. During such lawsuits, the court examines the provided evidence to determine the negligent party. Your trip and fall lawyer will help you file a lawsuit if the property owner is partly or fully responsible for the accident. The law requires property owners to maintain their premises by fixing damaged floors, drying spills, and removing cables that create trip hazards. They should also use warning signs to inform you of potential hazards. If they don’t take adequate measures to maintain their property or warn visitors and you get injured as a result of their negligence, you can sue them.
Proving negligence involves various practices, such as applying the open and obvious doctrine. If the danger is open and obvious, the court may not find the property owner liable. Open and obvious hazards are those a reasonable person can recognize and avoid. This doctrine is nuanced, so your lawyer can still help you get compensation if the property owner did not exercise reasonable care. Property owners must exercise reasonable care by meeting compliance standards, inspecting the property, fixing hazards, and providing visible warnings. If owners exercise reasonable care, property visitors are more likely to recognize and avoid dangers.
Visitor Status and Evidence
Property owner liability varies depending on the status of the visitor. A visitor can be an invitee, licensee, or trespasser. Business invitees enter the property for express or implied benefits of both parties. Customers visiting a store, clients in an office, or patrons in a club or restaurant are business invitees. Public invitees are those visiting parks, museums, and other public spaces. Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees and must keep their premises reasonably safe for these visitors. Licensees are social guests who have permission to enter the property for individual reasons and purposes other than business. Friends, family members, and neighbors fall under the category of licensees. Property owners owe a duty of care to licensees and must address known hazards and provide warning signs. If potential hazards are made known to licensees, the property owner may not be liable for accidents.
Trespassers are visitors who enter the premises illegally or without the owner’s consent. Property owners owe no duty of care to trespassers and don’t have to keep their premises safe for these visitors. The only exception is when the trespassers are children and the property has unattended pools, trampolines, fountains, or abandoned machinery. Property owners are not allowed to set traps that intentionally injure trespassers. Premises liability claims usually rely on the strength of the evidence provided, so your lawyer must provide proof of negligence or breach of duty of care by the property owner. Proof of medical bills, lost wages, and other damages helps your lawyer set a fair compensation amount.
Speak to a Trip and Fall Lawyer Today
Trip and fall accidents can result in severe injuries that keep you out of work for weeks, months, or years. Some accidents result in traumatic brain injuries and spinal injuries that require lifelong care. If you have been injured due to another party’s negligence, a trip and fall attorney will help you receive compensation. Speak to a trip and fall lawyer today to explain your case and learn more about your legal options.
