A property owner may have liability to those injured on his or her property. The mere fact that you are injured on someone else’s property does not automatically mean that the property owner has any responsibility or “liability” for your injuries. Premise liability aims to prevent foreseeable bodily injuries by requiring property owners to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition, free from hidden or latent defects or other dangerous conditions. A property owner could be liable to one who is injured on his or her land because if the injury resulted from the property owner’s negligence in not correcting or warning others of a latent or hidden hazardous condition. Premise Liability protects every person who traverses on another’s property, regardless of whether they are trespassing or an invited guest. Common premise liability cases involve personal injury claims for slip, trip or fall accidents, or attractive nuisances such as an un-gated swimming pool or pond. If you find yourself in one of these situations call a Jacksonville premise liability attorney to serve your needs.
Everyone has read in the newspaper about the case where the burglar sues the homeowner for injuries sustained during a burglary. This may seem unusual, but such cases usually involve facts where the home owner intentionally created a dangerous condition to deter criminal intrusion upon his land. Such conduct on behalf of a home owner may trigger premise liability for even the intruder’s injuries.
Trespass liability seeks to prevent property owners from intentionally or vindictively injuring others. In legal circles, this is often paraphrased as, “No Man-Made Death Traps.” Without these protections, nothing would stop people from leaving their property in such wanton states of disrepair that risk of bodily injury is substantially escalated. Landowners have a duty not create artificial conditions that my harm others. Landowners also have a duty to warn other people when they know or should have known that someone could interact with a dangerous or hazardous condition.
Unlike Trespassers, invited guests are granted extra protections. Sometimes this is paraphrased as, “No foreseeable dangerous conditions.” Because the landowner invited the person onto their property, the landowner has knowledge of the guest’s presence. The landowner is in the best position to prevent injuries resulting from dangerous conditions because the landowner has the best knowledge as to the condition of his property and has an affirmative duty to repair dangerous conditions. The landowner need not actually know about the dangerous condition if the court determines reasonable investigation would have informed the landowner of the dangerous condition.
You may be entitled to compensation if you are injured on another’s property. Whether the injury is due to the landowner’s failure to repair a dangerous condition, or failure to take action to prevent foreseeable injuries, you should immediately consult with a Jacksonville premise liability lawyer.
If you have questions about a premise liability case, contact Jacksonville premise liability attorney Sam Jubran at (904) 360-6100. If you are concerned that you may have exposure for someone injured on your property, you should contact an experienced premise liability attorney as well as your general liability insurance company.