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What is Premises Liability?

Premises liability is a type of liability that usually enters the picture when there has been a personal injury case. In the 50 states, it’s important for any property owners to uphold a safe environment for others. This keeps users safe and it avoids any liability issues for people and companies. However, there are many situations that can happen daily and cause a lawsuit to arise if an accident occurs. Keep reading this page for additional information about what premises liability is.

Common Lawsuits 

Premises liability is the responsibility that a person or company takes on to keep guests on their property safe. Premises liability can occur in our own backyards. Some examples of lawsuits that have been filed are:

  • Slips or accidental falls 
  • Swimming pool injury
  • Animal bites
  • Dangerous property
  • Inadequate maintenance
  • Children on property
  • Retail store liability
  • Restaurant liability 

It can get fuzzy when dealing with commercial property such as apartments. When an injury occurs while in an apartment, it is mostly the resident’s fault because they are in charge of the upkeep of their dwelling. However, there can be exceptions, like latent defects in the home, which results in the owner of the complex to be held liable instead of themselves. Alternatively, accidents that happen in common areas of an apartment complex may be the fault of the building owner. Each state varies in the rules about who might recover for premises liability and the conditions they fall under.

Elevator Accidents and Premises Liability

In situations where a company owns a building, they are responsible for physical accidents that occur on the premises. This includes accidents in elevators or on escalators. 

Limitations on Recovering 

If an accident occurs on someone else’s property, you might not be able to recover damages. The majority of the states in the United States continue in the same path of comparative fault in these cases. What this means is that someone who has been injured and is somewhat responsible for the accident can’t recover for damages from a dangerous property condition. If you are a visitor on someone else’s property, it is your job to stay safe. For example, if an injured person is responsible for 15% of the injury, the property owner would be responsible for the other 85% and the recovery the victim would receive would be that 85%.

These situations can get complicated, and it can be hard to determine how much compensation you are entitled to. It is a good idea to contact an attorney to determine how you can recover damages. 

Getting Help

Proving liability can be difficult. You will have to prove that the entity owning the building was negligent in property upkeep and that they did not reasonably warn you of potential dangers (ex. no warning that the floor is wet after mopping). You will also have to prove that this negligence caused an accident in which you sustained an injury.

If you or someone you know needs help dealing with premises liability within a case, contact our office for more information. We will lead you to the right attorney and help in any way that we can.

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