Everything You Need to Know About a Premises Liability Claim

As a property owner, you’ve probably put consideration and effort into preventing people from damaging your property. Homeowners invest in home security systems, business owners use fences to prevent trespassers and cameras to catch theft. But many don’t remember to consider how to prevent their property from damaging people.

When a property owner overlooks a potential hazard and you are injured by it, you may find yourself in a premises liability case to secure compensation. Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel specializes in personal injury cases in Washington State. Let’s discuss how a premises liability claim works and how EPIC Law can help.

What is Premise Liability?

Premises liability law allows you to pursue compensation for injuries you sustain on another person’s property. It holds property owners responsible for keeping their land and buildings safe for others, detailing what obligations they owe under what circumstances, and what compensation can be claimed when they don’t fulfill these obligations.

Several types of injuries and accidents can fall under premise liability, such as:

• Slip and fall accidents
• Swimming pool injuries
• Animal attacks
• Security issues
• Injuries from elevators and escalators

Understanding the Property Owner’s Responsibility

The type of property, why someone is on it, and how they are injured are all factors that must be considered in a premises liability claim. Property owners have a general responsibility to maintain safe premises, but how far that responsibility extends depends on several circumstances. Whether a property owner will be responsible for paying damages often depends on the category of their visitors.

Invitee: Someone who comes onto the property to do business with the owner. This category includes restaurants and stores. Property owners have the highest level of obligation to invitees.

Licensee: This is someone who is an invited guest. They are there for their own purposes rather than to do business with the owner, however. Visiting a friend’s house would make you a licensee. Your friend would owe you an intermediate duty of care in this case.

Employees: If an employee is injured at work, this typically becomes a worker’s compensation claim, not premises liability. However, they may be able to claim premises liability if injured while working at a job site the employer does not own.

Trespassers: Though it may surprise you, property owners do have some premises liability to trespassers, though it is more minimal. You cannot purposefully create dangerous conditions on purpose and may need to provide warning for certain hazardous conditions.

Children: Property owners owe special care if they are aware that children may be on their property. Something like a pool or trampoline that may not be hazardous to adults can be a risk to children.

How a Premises Liability Claim Works

If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property and make a claim against them for compensation, there are three primary elements to consider in the case.

Determine the Defendant

First, you must determine who to make the claim against, and prove that they were responsible for the property. Most premises liability claims are made against the property owner, but there are exceptions. If you’re injured while visiting a friend’s apartment, your claim may be against the apartment owner, but it may be against the tenant for not maintaining their unit.

Prove the Defendant’s Negligence

Whoever the defendant is, you must prove their negligence. If they did not properly maintain their property or failed to adequately warn of hazards, this may be negligence. But if your injury occurred from an unforeseeable risk or had nothing to do with the property itself, you may not be able to prove negligence, which is crucial to receiving compensation.

Prove Your Injuries and Damages

You must prove that you sustained damages from the incident and that these were directly caused by the property owner’s negligence. If you slip and fall at a store but aren’t injured, you probably won’t receive any compensation, even if the store owner was negligent. Similarly, if you are injured but it was due to your own carelessness, not the owner’s, they may not owe damages.

How EPIC Law Can Help with a Premises Liability Claim

A premises liability claim is rarely simple. But with experienced legal counsel, it can be. Our job is to guide you through every step of the process, negotiate on your behalf, represent you in court, and ultimately, ensure you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a consultation or learn more!