Premises Liability

Premises liability is a subspecialty of personal injury law that deals with the liabilities of the owners, renters and other possessors (including municipal, state and federal governmental entities) of land to the individuals who enter upon that land. The duties owed to the person who enters on the land vary according to that person's status, that is, whether they are an invitee, a licensee or a trespasser. The land owner has greater duties to an invitee than they may have to a trespasser. A civilized society does not permit the landowner to ignore the safety of the trespasser who may be an innocent child lured onto the property by a dangerous condition they are not likely to discover because of their tender years.

Every year millions of people are hurt while in someone else's home or place of business. People may be injured in a slip and fall accident, trip on a poorly lit flight of stairs, or slip on a puddle on the floor. Their injury may be the result of a defect or unsafe condition in the building. Businesses invite customers on to their property and then fail to provide adequate security resulting in a variety of injuries including brutal assaults and drowning.

Generally, the law provides that property owners, businesses, and owners of private residences must keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition for people who are on the property. There is a duty to warn of dangerous conditions that the owner knew or should have known existed on the property. The condition may be physical (an uncovered hole or crack in the sidewalk) or nonphysical (not warning a hotel guest or ATM customer of a high crime area). If a property owner fails to properly maintain his or her property, provide adequate security, or warn of known dangers, and someone is injured as a result, the property owner or occupier may be held liable for the injured person's damages, including such things as medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages.

Premises Liability Accidents

There are endless ways in which people get injured on other's property. Some of the more common types of premises liability accidents include:

  • Dog or Animal, which owners are liable when a person is bitten, chased or attacked by a dog or other animal. These victims often suffer from scarring, nerve damage, wounds requiring multiple stitches or reconstructive surgery, and may also claim damages for emotional trauma.
  • Swimming Pool Accidents and Drowning; owners of private pools or theme parks may be liable for drowning deaths, water slide accidents and injuries that occur due to slippery surfaces, lack of supervision, faulty equipment and disregard for safety.
  • Inadequate Security Resulting in Assault and/or Rape, which includes hotels, colleges, universities, parking garages/ramps, warehouses, apartment complexes, bars/night clubs and other businesses may be liable for damages when patrons are physically or sexually assaulted in buildings or parking lots. Negligent security claims include poor lighting, lack of monitoring, or broken locks or fences enabling access and opportunity to the assailant.
  • Slip and Fall, which is a term used to describe when a person slips, trips or falls, and is injured as a result of a dangerous condition on someone else's property.
  • Business Guests/Retail Customers can be injured while in a store, theme park or other public place. Because of the large volume of traffic, the odds of a customer being injured are great. When you are at a business, you are there because you provide the owner potential economic benefit. The store owner has a duty of care to inspect for dangerous conditions and to keep the premises safe for you. Customers may suffer serious injury when shelving collapses, products fall from shelves of transient foreign substances on the floor cause a fall down accident to occur.

Contact the Kane Law Firm, P.A.

It is important to contact a lawyer immediately to investigate the scene of the accident for any defects or dangerous conditions, and to take statements from witnesses.

If you or a loved one has suffered from a premises liability injury, please call the Central Florida Premises Liability Accident Attorneys at the Kane Law Firm, P.A. in Orlando, Florida at (407) 898-9130, submit a contact form on our website, or email us at Info@KaneInjury.com.

We offer a free initial consultation, and if we agree to take your case, we will work on a contingency basis. This means we will get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds.