Holding Property Owners Accountable
What is Premises Liability? Premises Liability is the legal principle that holds property owners accountable when someone is injured on their property. Property owners owe a duty of care to people who enter their property. The duty of care differs depending on the status of the person visiting the property. The visiting
person is either an invitee, a licensee or a trespasser. Invitees are people visiting a property for business purposes, such as a customer in a store. They are owed the highest duty of care- a property owner has the duty to protect invitees from known or foreseeable harm. Licensees are people invited onto the property owner’s land, such as asocial guests Property owners have the duty to warn licensees of any known hazards. Trespassers are people that enter without permission, and property owners have a duty to not willfully harm them.
Proving Negligence
Accidents can happen anywhere, and knowing your rights and responsibilities will help you navigate your path if the unfortunate occurs. For example, if you were an invitee hurt in a store while shopping, you could be compensated for your injuries. You would need to present evidence that there was a hazard, the business owner either created the hazard or knew of the hazard and failed to remedy it or warn against it, and the hazard caused your injury.
In many premises liability cases, proving that the landowner breached its duty of care is only one part of the uphill battle. You must also prove that you weren’t negligent, that you were acting as a reasonable customer- paying attention to your surroundings. You need to prove that you were watching where you were going and took steps to avoid the hazard. This can be a hard hurdle to overcome, but a skilled lawyer can help you. Many times, there will be video surveillance which can show if there was a hazard, whether the store owner created the hazard, how long the hazard had been there, how many other shoppers came into contact with it, if you were paying attention to your surroundings, among other important factors. A lawyer will help you investigate and gather this evidence.
Getting Compensated For Your Injuries
Compensation for premises liability cases also depends on the circumstances surrounding your claim. You may be able to be compensated for your hospital stay, lost wages, future medical expenses, and your pain and suffering. It’s important to gather this information and provide it to your lawyer. Should you find yourself injured on someone else’s property, please contact a skilled premises liability lawyer at Pracht Injury Lawyers, and we will assess whether you have a claim, and if so, will take immediate action to get you compensated for your loss.
