To file a premises liability claim, the injured party must establish several key grounds to demonstrate that the property owner or occupier is legally responsible for the injuries sustained. Premises liability refers to a property owner’s duty to ensure the safety of their property for visitors, tenants, or guests. If the property owner or occupier fails to maintain a safe environment, they could be held liable for injuries that occur on their premises.
The first and most crucial element is that the injured person must prove that the property owner owed them a duty of care. This means that the property owner is legally obligated to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to people on their property. For example, this includes repairing hazardous conditions, warning visitors about potential dangers, and maintaining safe walkways and stairways. The level of duty varies depending on the type of visitor—invitees (such as customers or tenants) are owed the highest duty of care, while licensees (such as social guests) are owed a lower duty, and trespassers are generally owed the least.
Next, the plaintiff must show that the property owner breached this duty of care. This could involve failing to fix a dangerous condition, failing to warn visitors about hazards, or not taking reasonable precautions to avoid accidents. For example, if a store owner knew about a wet floor and didn’t place warning signs, this could be seen as a breach of duty.
Once the breach is established, the injured party must prove that the breach of duty was the proximate cause of the accident. In other words, the plaintiff must show that the injury would not have occurred if the property owner had taken appropriate action to maintain a safe environment. For example, if someone slips and falls due to a wet floor that the property owner failed to warn them about, the breach directly caused their injury.
Finally, the injured party must demonstrate that they have suffered actual damages as a result of the accident. This could include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or other damages related to the injury. If no actual damages can be proven, the claim will likely fail.
In some cases, if the injured party is aware of the dangerous condition but chooses to ignore it, their ability to recover damages could be reduced based on contributory or comparative negligence laws. States vary in how they apply these rules, so it’s important to understand how local laws may affect the case.
In summary, to file a premises liability claim, the injured party must establish that the property owner owed them a duty of care, breached that duty, caused the accident, and resulted in actual damages.
