Premises liability laws cover lawsuits from people sustaining harm on someone else’s property because of landowner negligence. The most common type of cases handled by experienced personal injury attorneys usually result from slip and falls due to property hazards and defects, but one essential thing to know is an accident on someone else’s property does not automatically mean there is cause for a civil lawsuit.
There must be evidence the owner knew or should have known of the hazardous situation and failed to repair or warn property visitors until someone was hurt. Call a King of Prussia premises liability lawyer to learn more.
While slipping or tripping and falling is the most well-known type of premises liability case, many other factors can cause people harm, including:
State regulations require property owners and those responsible for the upkeep of the premises to ensure safety and do regular inspections to look for hazards needing repair.
The legal obligation of landowners to keep the property safe and hazard free to reduce risks to their visitors is called a duty of care. The degree of legal duty they owe depends on the reason visitors entered the premises.
The first category of visitors is invitees, who enter the premises upon implied or expressed invitation of the owner. Landowners owe this group of people a reasonable duty to keep the area safe and protect them from harm.
The second group is called licensees, and they enter the property with permission of the landowner but for personal reasons, such as a salesman or a neighbor stopping by to borrow something. The land’s possessor is obligated to warn this group about hazardous conditions that could cause them harm.
Trespassers enter properties for their gain and without the property owner’s permission; therefore, the landowner has no obligation to protect them from damages in most cases. The exception to the rule is for young children who enter the property because of something known to attract kids, such as a pool.
Landowners must ensure the premises are locked and secure so young trespassers cannot enter, or a court could hold them liable for damages. A King of Prussia premises liability attorney could review the statute in detail and help determine which group the injured party belongs to.
In premises liability cases, the defense may argue the injured party shares responsibility for the accident and is partly liable for the damages. When a civil court agrees, they will calculate the award for damages using the modified comparative negligence rule. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 42 § 7102 says sharing part of the liability for accidents in negligence claims does not exclude the injured party from collecting a settlement.
The court will subtract the injured person’s share of responsibility from the award, but when the court determines their portion of the fault exceeds the property owner’s, the injured person cannot collect damages, and the case will be dismissed. A premises liability lawyer in King of Prussia could review the applicable statutes and help estimate damages under the modified comparative fault rule.
Guests can pursue damages when negligent property owners fail to comply with state and civil laws, however, the cases are complex and require establishing whether the property owner knew or should have known of the hazard through reasonable diligence and effort.
A King of Prussia premises liability lawyer could help you through the process and fight for a fair award for damages. Call today to schedule an appointment to review your case.
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