Who is Responsible for Injuries in a Premises Liability Case?

Were you injured on someone else’s property caused by their negligence? Are you the victim of a slip and fall injury that could have been prevented had the property owner ensured your safety?

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our premises liability attorneys advocate for injured victims to protect their rights.

Call our law offices at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) or use the contact form today for legal advice and schedule a free consultation.

Let us discuss your injuries in a premises liability case to ensure you recover compensation for your damages.

A property owner is legally obligated to ensure the safety of everyone visiting or living at the residence or commercial building. Neglecting to uphold this duty could create liability issues for the property owner if an accident or injury occurs.

Under premises liability laws, any property owner could be held financially accountable for any injuries or damages caused by their negligence. In addition, a personal injury attorney can provide legal advice on your rights if you were harmed or lost a loved one on someone else’s property.

Property Owners and Injuries in a Premises Liability Case

Property owners can be held civilly liable under premises liability laws for any slip, trip, or fall from dangerous property conditions.

Many premises liability cases involve the following:

• Fallen tree branches,
• Trampoline accidents
• Broken chairs at restaurants
• Open ditches
• Collapsing balconies
• Defective stair rails
• Unsafe electrical outlets
• Slippery surfaces where the property owner failed to provide safety to everyone

Premises liability cases are usually based on negligence that could include:

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents occur everywhere, including the following:

• Workplaces
• Hotels
• Parking lots
• Garages
• Restaurants
• Grocery stores
• Shopping malls

Property owners are responsible for ensuring everyone’s safety when walking on or around slippery surfaces when ice, rain, or liquids are present.

Residents receive adequate supervision to prevent slip and fall accidents that could lead to catastrophic or deadly hip fractures, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, lacerations, or spinal cord damage.

Negligent Security

Business managers and owners could be legally liable for any damages occurring to others under premises liability laws.

An injured individual could file a civil lawsuit against a property owner for failing to provide adequate security that led to an attack, physical assault, or robbery.

Dog Bites and Animal Attacks

Any dog bite or animal attack victim has the legal right to seek financial compensation from the dog’s owner or property owner where the attack happened.

A property owner could be held legally liable if they knew that a tenant owned a dangerous dog that previously attacked others and yet failed to enforce property rules to ensure everyone’s safety.

Toxic Chemical Exposure

Premises liability laws require property owners to protect residents, workers, visitors, and invitees against any toxic chemical exposure, including the following:

• Chemical solvents
• Asbestos fibers
• Mold
• Pesticides (such as Roundup non-hodgkins lymphoma lawsuits or Paraquat parkins0n’s disease claims)
• Others

Fire & Electrocution

Any electrocution, explosion, blast, hotel fire, or apartment fire victim could file a civil lawsuit if the property owners were negligent in providing safety.

These premises liability cases typically involve a comprehensive investigation into what occurred to determine if negligent wiring, inadequate sprinkler systems, insufficient fire escapes, or other negligent condition was to blame.

Under premises liability laws, the commercial property owner, residential homeowner, landlord, or others could be held legally liable for any damages, injuries, or death caused by fire or electrocution.

Workplace Injuries

Employees, subcontractors, and vendors injured in their workplace could file a premises liability case against the property owner seeking compensation based on negligence.

Playground & School Accidents

Many accidents occur at school or on the playground due to negligent supervision where the child or adult was harmed on public land or school property.

Premises liability laws might also involve inappropriate sexual conduct when a teacher, coach, school counselor, visitor, or parent on the property sexually abuses a child.

Premises Liability Injury: Secondary Claims

Personal injury attorneys specializing in premises liability cases investigate precisely what occurred to determine if any secondary claims could be filed against third parties.

Secondary claims typically involve a failure to maintain the premises or a product defect that entirely or partially contributed to the victim’s damages.

Common examples of secondary claims involved in premises liability cases include:

• A shelving company’s manufacturing defect caused a bracket to fail, leading to products falling off the store shelf
• A design or manufacturing defect caused a chair to collapse in a restaurant
• Defectively designed furniture tipped over, injuring the victim
• A design or manufacturing defect of a trampoline or bounce house
• A landscaping company responsible for maintaining the premises with rotted branches or trees that led to a tree falling
• An architect designed or contractor built and installed a dangerous balcony
• A property manager or owner failed to secure or barricade an open ditch, led to injuries
• A safety inspector tasked to maintain a safe workplace on a construction site failed to identify a dangerous hazard that led to a worker or visitor’s injuries.

An Injured Party’s Status Determines If They Qualify for Compensation

Under civil tort law, property owners and managers are responsible for preventing hazardous conditions that could harm others.

However, not everyone can recover financial damages based on premises liability laws.

Under the legal concept of premises liability, those who could qualify to file a premises liability case include:

• A social guest (licensee)
• People invited for business (invitees)
• People working on the premises (employees)
• Individuals living on the premises (tenants)
• Very young trespassers

Any trespasser of age who understands trespassing laws is not a qualified candidate to file a civil suit against the property owner under premises liability laws if they were injured.

Additionally, the amount of care the property owner or manager owes trespassers on the property varies significantly on whether or not the trespasser harmed was an adult child.

Proving Premises Liability Negligence

Premises liability cases are built on negligence, a legal concept holding people accountable in civil cases for unintentional harm that caused others injuries.

Under premises liability, if the property owner knew or should have reasonably known about a dangerous hazard on their property and failed to take steps to remove the hazard, they fulfill the burden of proof for the plaintiff (injured party).

To win a premises liability case, the injured person (plaintiff) must prove the four elements showing how the party at fault (defendant) acted negligently.

These four premises liability elements include:

• Duty of care – The plaintiff must show that the defendant owed them a duty of care under the circumstances that caused their harm.
• Breach of duty – The injured individual must prove that the defendant breached their legal duty by failing to act or acting a specific way about some malfunctioning product or unsafe condition.
• Causation – The injured person must show how the defendant’s actions or inactions led to the plaintiff’s injuries.
• Damages – The plaintiff must show that they were injured or harmed due to the defendant’s actions or inactions.

When the injured party meets the burden of proof, they are usually entitled to damages under the legal theory of negligence.

In these premises liability cases, the court will likely compensate the plaintiff for their injuries, usually through financial compensation to cover their expenses, including the following:

• Medical bills
• Hospitalization costs
• Lost wages
• Future lost earnings
• Emotional distress
• Pain, suffering, and mental anguish

In wrongful death lawsuits involving premises liability, surviving family members proving all four elements to hold the defendant responsible can also receive the monetary compensation listed above, along with funeral & burial costs, lost familial support, loss of consortium, and loss of companionship.

Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer to Handle Your Premises Liability Claim against a Property Owner

Did you sustain an injury from a slip and fall, chemical exposure, or other incident caused by negligence? Did you lose a loved one through a wrongful death that could have been prevented had the property owner corrected a dangerous hazard?

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our injury attorneys can ensure that your family can recover compensation for damages.

Call our personal injury law firm at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or through the contact form to date to schedule a free consultation.

Let a personal injury lawyer analyze what happened and discuss how to move your premises liability case forward. Our legal team accepts all personal injury cases and wrongful death lawsuits through contingency fee arrangements.

These agreements ensure you pay for our legal services only after resolving your premises liability case through a negotiated settlement or jury verdict.

All sensitive or confidential information you share with your experienced attorney concerning your premises liability case remains private through an attorney-client relationship.