Premises Liability & Slip and Fall Accidents

Premises liability encompasses injuries arising out of a dangerous condition on someone's property such as injuries caused by slip and falls, inadequate security, construction accidents, fires, explosions, exposure to hazardous materials, animal bites, and workplace injuries to name a few.

Owners and occupiers of property have a duty to protect persons lawfully on their property from injuries resulting from hazardous conditions that the owner or occupier knew or should have known existed. When owners or occupiers of property act irresponsibly by failing to adequately protect persons from such hazards, they should be held accountable.

A thorough understanding of the ever-changing and fact-specific law regarding the various and numerous incidents that result in premises liability is essential to successful legal representation. For example, it is usually easy to determine who is the owner of the premises. However, the situation often becomes less clear when determining the the duty that owner owes to others on his or property. This is because the law distinguishes between three classes of people who come onto another's property. These three classes are invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Accordingly, the owner of the property is obligated by law to take different levels of precaution for each classification of persons on the property.

If you were injured while on someone else's property, please contact me for a free evaluation of your case.

I will evaluate your case free of charge. In addition, you will not pay any fees or costs unless I recover money for you. Please fill out the form below or call for an immediate response.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Deaths caused by slip and fall accidents are second only to motor vehicle accidents. There are many different kinds of slip, trip and fall incidents. A few examples are trips over poorly aligned sidewalk edges, falls down stairs that are in poor condition, falls due to inadequate lighting or items not built to code, and slips on food and foreign substances in restaurants and supermarkets. Snowy, icy or wet sidewalks, walkways and stairs can be particularly dangerous. Businesses and residences may be liable for hazardous conditions due to a build up of ice or snow if they do not take adequate precautions to clear them.

Owners or occupiers of property have a duty to protect persons lawfully on their property from injuries caused by dangerous conditions that the owner or occupier knew or should have known existed. It is usually not difficult to determine who owns the property in question. The duty owed by an owner or occupier of land varies depending upon the types of people who may be on their property. There are three types of people who can be injured: invitees, licensees and trespassers.

An invitee is someone who has the direct or implied permission from the owner or occupier to be on the property. An example of an invitee would be a customer in a store. The owner or occupier has the duty to make a reasonable inspection of the premises to ensure the protection of the invitees.

A licensee is someone whose presence on the property is tolerated or permitted and therefore, is not a trespasser, but who does not qualify as an invitee. A social guest is generally a licensee. An owner or occupier is liable to the licensee only for willful or wanton injury. The owner or occupier has a duty to warn the licensee of any known dangerous conditions on the premises and also of any conditions where the owner or occupier knows the licensee is unaware of the condition and unlikely to discover it. The owner or occupier does not have a duty to inspect for defects or repair known defects as he does to the invitee.

A trespasser is someone who does not have the permission of the owner or occupier to be on their property even if they are on the property by mistake. The duty owed to a trespasser is less than that of an invitee or licensee. An exception to this is in certain situations involving children where the owner or occupier has something on his land that is inherently dangerous and man-made. This is sometimes referred to as an "attractive nuisance". If an owner or occupier creates or is aware of an attractive nuisance, they might still be liability for injuries received by a child regardless of their status as a trespasser.

In addition to being able to determine these legal distinctions and duties, preserving evidence by taking photographs, recording statements of witnesses and saving physical evidence are important actions that must usually be taken in slip, trip and fall cases. That is why it is important for victims of slip, trip and fall accidents to hire a premises liability lawyer as soon as possible.

I will evaluate your case free of charge. In addition, you will not pay any fees or costs unless I recover money for you. Please fill out the form below or call for an immediate response.

Telephone: (314) 276-1681 or
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