Whenever you enter a business or other privately owned place, there is a reasonable assumption that the property will be well maintained.
However, injuries due to unsafe building conditions do happen, and the owner of the property may be responsible under premises liability.
What is premises liability?
It is the legal classification that applies in cases of personal injury caused by hazardous or faulty conditions on someone’s property. If you enter private property and sustain an injury caused by improper site maintenance or insufficient safety measures, the property owner may be responsible for your injury under premises liability.
There are many elements that can create dangerous conditions for business patrons. Some common examples are slippery services due to spills or leaks and poorly maintained building elements like appliances or signs. How do you know if your specific circumstances qualify for a premises liability lawsuit?
What are the considerations?
Each individual case and situation are unique, but there are a few main elements to consider. First, the property owner must have owed you a duty of care that they did not fulfill. Did they have a responsibility to fix a dangerous condition or warn you about said condition, and did they fail to do this? Next, this breach of duty must have caused you harm. Were you injured and was it caused by the hazardous conditions of the building?
If you have sustained an injury due to an unsafe building environment, premises liability could mean that the property owner is responsible.