Apr
29
2022
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Healy & Jordan PLLC
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What Is Premise Liability? Everything You Need To Know

What Is Premises Liability? Everything You Need To Know

Whether you injured yourself on someone else’s property or they hurt themselves on your land, you need help. You will need to understand premises liability before a simple mistake on your part could lead to a bigger case.

What is premises liability and why should it concern you?

While reading through this guide, you will learn what premises liability is and how it affects you. You will then find various examples of liability accidents.

What Is Premises Liability and What It Means for You?

Premises liability is a legal concept that appears when an invitee or licensee suffers from an injury on someone else's property. This concept will show up in personal injury cases.

A premises liability lawsuit will hold a property owner responsible for damages that happen because of an injury.

The Property Owner’s Role

In both Louisiana and Mississippi, owners must provide a safe environment for guests. Examples of precautions that owners could take include installing fences, maintaining hardware, or repairing broken furniture.

If business or property owners are unable to quickly address their safety issues, they must warn guests of any unsafe conditions. These types of requirements are standard among states.

Some states may have different rules. Not all states do this, but some will categorize visitors into a few groups that include:

Invitee

An invitee is someone the owner invited to a property for commercial purposes. This includes customers or contractors. The invitation implies the owner has taken steps to ensure a safe shopping or visiting environment.

Trespasser

A trespasser enters a property without any right to do so. Because of this, there is no promise to trespassers that the property owner has enacted the right safeguards. The owners cannot lawfully prepare traps for trespassers.

Licensee

A licensee, or social guest, enters a property for their purpose at the owner’s consent. The owner must exercise enough care to prevent injuries on their property

Visitor’s Duty

A licensee or invitee must use reasonable care to keep themselves safe. Suffering an injury due to carelessness could reduce your percentage of the fault. This could lower the amount you are owed for damages.

In states with contributory negligence, plaintiffs may find themselves unable to recover any funds. This type of negligence occurs when both parties fail to take proper precautions to assure the safety of the plaintiff.

Types of Premises Liability Accidents

Throughout this section, you will find several examples of premises liability accidents and areas where the owner could prove themselves negligent.

Lack of Building Security

If a building owner fails to employ the right security measures and a break-in happens, premises liability comes into play. In this scenario, renters may be owed compensation because of the property owner’s negligence.

Slips-and-Falls

When someone slips and falls on your property and if an injury happens, premises liability will become one of your first settlements. These incidents could come from unsecured carpets, broken stair steps, wet floors, and more.

Some areas of neglect that could fall on the owner include the owner forgetting to put a wet floor sign, not warning guests of broken stairs, and failing to secure carpets.

Other Classified Liability Cases

To determine how protected you are in a premises liability case, you will need to understand what situations you could initiate or suffer from a lawsuit for. More examples include:

  • Swimming pool injury
  • Animal bites
  • Inadequate Maintenance
  • Elevator accidents
  • Presence of toxic fumes
  • Ice- and snow-related accidents

When Should You Consult a Lawyer?

When dealing with a premises liability case as a property owner, you will benefit from hiring a lawyer. Whether you were negligent or took the right safety precautions, you will need to prepare yourself for the victim’s lawyer.

Their lawyer will know more about personal injury law than you. You will want to have someone who can help mitigate your losses.

If you are a visitor who suffers from an injury, you will need to prove the owner’s negligence. A lawyer will help you receive funds for medical expenses, lost wages, and relief when dealing with your pain. They will also help you argue your case.

Have you suffered from a liability accident in New Orleans or Gulfport? Contact a specialist. The Healy & Jordan Law Firm has extensive experience in handling liability cases. If you need to speak to someone immediately, call us at 228-575-4005.

If you prefer speaking through email, use our contact form and we will respond as soon as possible.

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