There are many types of premises liability accidents—much can go wrong when property owners fail to protect visitors. Slip and falls, trip and falls, swimming pool accidents, electrocution accidents, assaults and other traumatic experiences (often the result of negligent security), burns, exposure to toxic chemicals, and animal attacks are some examples of premises liability events.
If you suffered harm—including injury, illness, or wrongful death of a loved one—on a dangerous property, hire a premises liability lawyer. Your attorney will enable you to prioritize recovery. They will oversee every detail of your case and will work aggressively to secure the compensation you deserve.
Premises Liability Cases Involve Property Owners’ Failures to Protect Visitors
The term “premises liability” refers to the generally accepted legal concept that property owners are responsible for the relative safety of their property. Therefore, premises liability cases often involve property owners who fail to protect visitors.
Some of the most common types of negligence that lead to premises liability cases are:
- Failing to repair hazards on the property: One of the clearest forms of negligence is being aware of a hazard but failing to remove or repair that hazard. Whether it is a leaking pipe that leaves a puddle on a tile floor or a lack of security cameras in a neighborhood with high crime rates, every hazard demands an immediate solution.
- Not monitoring the property (or instructing others to monitor the property): Ignorance is not an excuse for negligence. Property owners must actively monitor their premises, looking for hazards that endanger visitors and employees. Property owners can train employees, install video cameras, walk the property regularly, install bright lighting, and take other measures to ensure safety hazards come to light.
- Failing to block off hazards that cannot be immediately repaired or removed: Not all hazards can be removed or repaired immediately. For instance, a property owner may be unable to repair a leaking pipe right away. Even so, they must put up tape, a barrier, or take other measures to ensure visitors are aware of the hazard.
- Not installing adequate security features: Negligent security is one common form of negligence by property owners. If a property is frequently the site of property crime, physical attacks, or other forms of crime, this is reason to install security measures. Even if a property does not have an extensive history of crime, basic safety features like bright lighting and security cameras are often necessary to protect visitors and employees.
- Endangering visitors for financial reasons: As your attorney builds your premises liability case, they will determine why the property owner failed you. Money is one potential explanation, as many property owners will endanger visitors and employees if it means saving a buck.
Anytime a property owner falls short of their duty to protect those who enter their premises, that owner must be responsible for resulting harm.
What Happens When a Property Owner Does Not Prioritize Safety?
Some of the outcomes of property owners’ failures to protect visitors and employees are:
- Injuries
- Illnesses
- Wrongful deaths
These outcomes can result from falls, drownings, assaults, dangerous interactions with sources of heat and electricity, exposure to unsafe chemicals, and countless other harmful events.
Victims who endure these outcomes often face physical pain, emotional anguish, financial distress, and many other adverse outcomes. If you have suffered injuries, become sick, or lost a loved one due to a property owner’s negligence, your next moves are critical.
What to Do After Suffering Harm on a Dangerous Property
Despite the pain, confusion, and uncertainty that occurs when you’re injured, sick, or grieving, it is important to adopt tunnel vision right now. While we know you have many responsibilities, it is critical that you:
Get Medical Care Immediately for Injury or Illness
If you do not get medical attention soon after a harmful event on a dangerous property, you may:
- Miss non-negotiable deadlines (California law, for example, generally requires lawyers to file premises liability lawsuits within a specific timeframe)
- Expose yourself to the argument that your injury or illness is not connected to the property owner’s negligence
- Place yourself at risk for worsening physical and mental health
- Unnecessarily weaken your lawyer’s case
Your attorney can ensure you get the care you need, and this is one of several reasons to retain your premises liability lawyer as soon as you can.
Hire Your Premises Liability Attorney as Soon as You Can
You can find a premises liability lawyer online. Consider client reviews, case results, the law firm’s resources, and the experience you have during your free consultation.
Do not wait to retain your legal team because:
- Your lawyer will need to document the property owner’s negligence (and the property owner may be actively concealing or disposing of evidence)
- Your lawyer needs to ensure the proper filing of any insurance claims or lawsuits
- Your rights and case may be at risk until you have a lawyer to deal with insurance companies and protect you
Your premises liability attorney may need to file a letter of spoliation. This letter will prohibit the negligent property owner from disposing of evidence and may even require them to hand over evidence to your attorney.
Trust Your Lawyer’s Advice – It’s Coming from Years of Experience
If you are careful when choosing your lawyer, you can put stock in their advice. While your legal team will manage every detail of your case, they may issue advice that includes:
- Do not make any statements to insurance representatives
- Follow your doctor’s treatment plan
- Continue to seek any mental health treatment that may ease your pain and suffering
- Contact your attorney if you have any questions
- Remain available for updates from your legal team
Your premises liability lawyer will inform you anytime you receive a settlement offer or other developments occur in your case. If you have any questions about what you should or shouldn’t do, reach out to your legal team.
When Do I Need a Premises Lawyer?
Everyone harmed by negligent property owners should speak with a premises liability lawyer. There are several reasons why you should hire one. These reasons include:
The Limited Time You Have (and the Importance of Diverting That Time Towards Recovery)
If you are like most people, you have limited time, even during the lulls in your life. When you are dealing with injury, illness, or a loved one’s death, it’s likely that your time is even more strained than usual.
By hiring a lawyer to oversee all the details of your premises liability case, you should have more time to:
- Rest
- See your doctor
- Get mental health services
- Do whatever else you need to do to promote healing
You shouldn’t have to decide whether to give time to your recovery or your case. By hiring a lawyer, you put your health first.
Your Unfamiliarity with Handling Premises Liability Cases
There is a reason lawyers handle premises liability cases. Your attorney will be:
- Familiar with premises liability law
- Able to identify the specific failures that qualify as negligence by the property owner
- Experienced in leading premises liability insurance claims
- Familiar with premises liability lawsuits
A lawyer’s training, legal knowledge, and experience make them the obvious candidate to handle your case. Because of these preexisting assets, your lawyer won’t waste any time resolving your case.
Your Lawyer’s No-Risk Fee Structure
Contingency fees are common in cases where the claimant or plaintiff are seeking compensation—like premises liability cases. This fee arrangement means:
- You’re not obligated to pay your premises liability lawyer any upfront fee (and they probably would not accept one if you offered)
- Your lawyer will receive a percentage of any settlement or verdict they obtain for you—ask about this percentage as you look for your law firm
- You don’t face any out-of-pocket financial risk when you hire a premises liability attorney
Either your lawyer will secure compensation for your damages, or they won’t receive payment for their services.
A Law Firm’s Financial Backing for Your Premises Liability Case
Because premises liability lawyers agree to receive payment only if they win for their client, your law firm will take strategic steps to improve their odds of victory. This includes investing money and resources into your case, which may include:
- Hiring medical professionals, mental health professionals, premises liability experts, economists, and other experts to contribute to your case
- Working with paralegals, investigators, and other support staff to move your case forward as quickly as possible
- Reconstructing the event(s) that have led you to pursue a premises liability case
Of course, your lawyer will also invest their time and effort in pursuing the compensation you are entitled to.
A Lawyer’s Ability and Willingness to Sue (and Go to Trial, If Need Be)
The majority of claimants and plaintiffs in premises liability cases receive settlements. There are advantages to settling for all parties, and your lawyer will fight for a fair settlement on your behalf.
Time will tell whether you need to file a lawsuit, and whether your case will go to trial if you choose to file suit. Your lawyer will have these discussions with you as necessary, and they will handle any legal case you decide to pursue.
How Premises Liability Lawyers Get Fair Compensation for Their Clients
If and when you hire a premises liability lawyer, expect your legal team to:
Gather Video Footage and Other Evidence from the Property Owner
When you suffer because of a property owner’s negligence, some important forms of evidence may be in the property owner’s hands. Your lawyer will file all necessary documentation to secure such evidence.
Evidence that may contribute to a positive case outcome includes:
- Video footage of the event(s) that caused you harm
- Photographs of the dangerous premises
- Eyewitness accounts of the event(s) that caused you harm
- Expert testimony about how the property owner failed to protect you
Lawyers use different evidence in each case they handle. Your legal team will promptly complete their investigation and secure all useful evidence for you.
Document All of Your Recoverable Damages
Medical bills and records, your account of pain and suffering, a mental health professional’s testimony, and financial records may all show your damages. Your attorney will collect and use all relevant documentation as they fight for the money you deserve.
Calculate the Value of Your Premises Liability Case
The value of a premises liability case includes:
- Economic damages the victim has already suffered (like the cost of emergency medical care)
- Non-economic damages you’ve already suffered (like the pain that comes with being injured)
- Economic damages you’ve yet to face (like future medical costs)
- Non-economic damages you’ve yet to face (like mental health difficulties you will endure in the future)
Attorneys know how to calculate each of these damages, which may require foresight, relatively complicated math, and assistance from various experts.
Demand a Fair Settlement for You
Using documentation of your damages and their mathematical calculations, your lawyer will determine how much money you deserve. They will present a demand letter to any insurance company responsible for your damages.
Oversee Any Lawsuit, Trial, and Other Legal Proceedings
If you and your lawyer choose to file suit, your attorney will oversee all necessary legal proceedings for you—including trial, if that is where your premises liability case leads.
Damages Your Attorney May Include in Your Premises Liability Lawsuit or Claim
Your attorney will be dead-set on securing fair compensation for all of your damages, which may include:
- Medical costs
- Lost income, diminished earning capacity, and other professional harm
- Pain and suffering
- A loved one’s wrongful death (and the many damages that result from a wrongful death)
- Any other economic or non-economic harm resulting from a property owner’s negligence
Lawyers are serious about calculating their clients’ damages. Getting fair compensation for those damages is the lawyer’s primary duty, so they have to get it right.
Hire Your Premises Liability Lawyer as Soon as Possible
Remember that there are generally deadlines for reporting health problems and filing premises liability cases. Don’t wait to retain a personal injury lawyer so they can ensure your case moves forward as smoothly and rapidly as possible.