Beware of Negligence: Avoiding Premises Liability

Almost everyone in the United States would have a tale regarding sustaining a physical or emotional injury or illness due to someone else’s fault.

Being in an accident leaves a very devastating mark on an individual’s life. It becomes so much more terrible if the accident should not have happened and only because of someone’s negligence that it happened.

A very traumatic personal injury can be the cause of great physical and emotional agony for an individual. It may cause major disruption to an individual’s life and damage their aptitude to work and affect their special skills.

Accidents leading to injuries are often due to someone else’s erroneous or irresponsible action. Sometimes it may also be because of the failure or negligence of a person to take action in preventing an accident.

According to personal injury law, the party, whether an individual or group of individual, responsible for the injuries have to answer to a liability case to the injured individual or groups of individual and pay for damages. The injured party has every right to sue for damages. The carelessness or even intentional action of the responsible party qualifies them to be sued with a personal injury case involving premises liability.

A personal injury lawsuit, whether for wrongful death, medical malpractice, slip and fall, etc., negligence is the most frequent type of actionable manner charged to the liable party. Negligence is also common concerning cases involving premises liability.

There are legal standards applied by the court in determining if the injury, whether damage or death was indeed caused by the responsible party’s negligence.

In most personal injury cases involving premises liability, it is determined how reasonable a person should be in the specific situation when the accident occurred and the injury happened.

Determining if an alleged liable party failed to act the standard or ideal reasonable person is a matter often resolved by a jury. After the plaintiff’s camp presented the evidence and argument during a trial, the jury decides whether there is negligence or failure to act reasonably by the defendant.

In cases involving premises liability, the liable person or party may also be a corporation, company or a just a single person.

Owners of a property, especially public business establishments all possess a legal responsibility to keep their premises in good condition in order that no one may be hurt or injured. A property in good condition must have no spills or ice on a floor or walkway, or slippery surfaces, which may cause a slip and fall accident. There must also be appropriate signs in case construction is going on and there are dangers of falling debris or warnings for other critical permanent hazards in the premises.

Whether the property is private or public, as long as it is established for public use should always be checked for safety and security. Here are several cases that may be prone to a premises liability lawsuit:

- hazardous or damaged sidewalks with no warning signs

- poor lighting in parks and other outdoor places

- inadequate locks

- insufficient security or poor building supervision

Meanwhile, people with domestic animals must also be aware of the danger their animals might bring to other people. They must act reasonably according to local ordinances and laws.

In case the property owner failed to act reasonably or responsibly in such cases and an accident took place causing injuries or death, then they can be sued on the grounds of negligence under the law on premises liability.

Being aware but intentionally disregarding a risky condition must be proven by the plaintiff in order to establish a defendant’s liability. Thus, several circumstances caused serious physical or emotional injuries wherein it is advisable to consult an attorney to know if a claim for a premises liability case is possible.