Personal Injury Cases Involving Premises Liability Claims
At Whibbs Stone Barnett Turner, P.A., we offer legal advice and representation on all personal injury matters including workers compensation, automotive injuries: car, semi-truck, motorcycle. bicycle and pedestrian, medical malpractice, product liability and premises liability cases.
Premises liability is the legal concept that holds property owners or occupiers responsible for injuries that occur on their property due to unsafe conditions. Slip and fall cases are a common subset of premises liability. If you have been injured on a premise, it may be important to understand the different types of premises liability and how slip and fall cases fit into them.
Categories of Premises Liability
Premises’ liability generally depends on the legal status of the person injured:
Invitees
Definition: People who enter a property for business purposes or because the property is open to the public (e.g., customers in a store).
Duty of Care: Property owners owe the highest duty to invitees. They must: regularly inspect for hazards, fix dangerous conditions, warn about hidden dangers that might exist. An example might be a grocery store customer who slips on a wet floor that wasn’t marked, or a person falls in a poorly lit parking lot.
Licensees
Definition: People who enter a dwelling for social reasons, not for business (e.g., a friend visiting your home).
Duty of Care: Owners must warn of known dangers that are not obvious. They do not have to inspect for hazards. An example might be a guest who trips on a loose rug that the owner knew about and didn’t remediate or someone who slips near a pond on your property that you failed to warn them about.
Trespassers
Definition: People who enter without permission.
Duty of Care: Property owners owe the lowest duty: generally only to refrain from intentional harm or gross negligence. Examples might include someone sneaks onto your property and gets hurt on an unsafe deck you deliberately ignored maintenance on or injury from an illegally set booby trap.
Children (Attractive Nuisance Doctrine):
Definition: Special rules apply when children are injured by something that attracts them, like a swimming pool, trampoline, or construction site.
Duty of Care: Property owners may be liable even if the child is technically trespassing if the hazard is likely to attract children and is dangerous. A child trespasses onto a property and drowns in an unfenced pool.
Slip and Fall Cases (A Common Type of Premises Liability)
Slip and fall cases usually fall under invitee or licensee categories, depending on the context.
4 Key elements a plaintiff or injured party must prove:
- Duty of Care: The property owner had a duty to maintain safe conditions.
- Breach of Duty: The owner failed to fix or warn about a hazard.
- Causation: The breach directly caused the injury.
- Damages: The plaintiff suffered an actual injury (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering).
Many Common Scenarios:
- Wet or slippery floors without warning signs.
- Loose or torn carpets or rugs.
- Uneven sidewalks or parking lots.
- Ice or snow that hasn’t been cleared.
- Poor lighting causing trips over steps or obstacles.
Special Slip and Fall Considerations
- Constructive notice: Did the owner know or should have known about the hazard?
- Open and obvious defense: Owners may argue the hazard was obvious and the injured person should have avoided it.
- Comparative negligence: Sometimes the injured person may share blame (e.g., not watching where they were walking).
In short, all slip and fall cases are premises liability cases, but not all premises liability cases are slip and fall.
Premises liability also includes injuries from:
- Falling objects
- Structural defects (stairs, railings)
- Animal attacks
- Swimming pool accidents
Why Should Your Hire Whibbs Stone to Handle a Premises’ Liability Accident
When hiring the most experienced legal representation matters most, the knowledgeable attorneys at Whibbs Stone are committed to leaving no stone unturned in pursuing fair and just compensation for those injured in any type of premises liability accident. These types of cases can range from simple to complex depending of course on the situation and extent of injuries sustained including death cases. Business owners usually employ aggressive legal defense to protect their interests and minimize their losses. As seasoned personal injury attorneys, we make a thorough investigation of the accident, preserve evidence, call upon accident reconstruction experts if needed and are trial-ready to pursue your claim. At Whibbs Stone our chief concern is helping injured victims and their families get the financial compensation they deserve.
Give us a call for a free no-obligation consultation. When Your Future Depends on It.
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