Texarkana Premises Liability Attorney

Personal Accident Attorney Michael Grossman Explains How to Proceed if You Suffered Injury on Another’s Privately Owned Premises

Were you or someone close to you injured on someone’s property? Whether the land belongs to an individual or a business, you might be eligible to bring legal action for your losses against the proprietor through a type of litigation called “premises liability.”

We all have a duty to others to ensure their well-being by not endangering their welfare through our own actions or negligence. Those who own property have such a legal obligation to various types of people who visit their property for various levels of safety. Those who suffer harm as a result of the proprietor’s carelessness are entitled to submit claims for personal injuries subject to premises liability. As examples, injury caused by an amusement park accident, attack by a domestic animal, an elevator or stairwell in addition to retail store or security negligence could all serve as a legitimate foundation for premises liability suits. However, not every injury endured on another’s property is a basis for legal action. To provide footing for a valid claim, harm has to have been caused by negligence on the part of the owner in failing to satisfy their obligation to afford the well-being of visitors to their property. If, for example someone becomes a victim of violent assault outside of a gas station because the property is poorly lit, then the facility would be responsible through premises liability.

Visitor Categories
The kind of visitor that a proprietor might see on their property dictates the owner’s obligation of care toward an individual. A visitor falls into one of three categories:

• Invitee – a person with knowledgeable forethought comes onto the property of their own free will for their own advantage as well as that of the proprietor. Customers of a shop are a common variety of invitees. They gain by satisfying a need or desire met by the store’s available products or services. The proprietor profits through the patronage of invitees and accepting payment for his or her wares.
• Licensee – A visitor who is familiar with the nature of the property and deliberately goes there with their own agenda. A person dropping by a friend’s residence to see them is legally considered to be a licensee.
• Trespasser – Somebody who visits a property with full awareness and of their own volition that has not been permitted by the proprietor or by lawful authority to enter, such as a vandal.

Obligations Owed to Each Type of Visitor Under the Law
Following are the explicit obligations owed to each category of visitor by the proprietor. Invitees are legally entitled to a responsibility by the owner to be aware of potential hazards and to notify their guests. A grocer, for instance, would have to warn their customers of a floor that was slick from mopping or dropped fruit.

• The obligation to caution invited visitors of any present risks. If you should visit a friend at their residence where there are poorly maintained stairs with loose boards, your friend is legally compelled to bring this to your attention.
• The obligation to refrain from purposefully causing injury to a visitor. A proprietor, for example, might booby trap their property as a security measure against burglars. Such a device could injure an invited visitor instead.

Owners are obligated to caution licensees about any hazards present on the property as well as to not try to hurt these visitors on purpose. A trespasser, on the other hand, are under the sole legal protection from reckless perils put in place by the owner’s knowledge. Should either classification of visitor lose their footing and suffer injury by falling on freshly refinished tile, they have no legal remedy for these damages.

When the Proprietor Assumes Liability for Injuries.
For someone who has suffered injury to win a case against the proprietor, a victim has to establish these key points:

1. The state of the owner’s property imparted a hazard beyond reason to visitors.
2. The owner was aware or should have had knowledge that the state of his property presented a threat beyond reason to someone on the premises.
3. The owner should have expected that a visitor would not notice or recognize the hazard or might be unable to guard against it.
4. The owner’s behavior was negligent.
5. The visitor was hurt.
6. The state of the proprietor’s property contributed to harm to the visitor.

One of the hardest factors to establish is that the owner was aware or should have had knowledge of the hazardous situation. There is no need to prove this if it is evident that the hazard was present by the design of the proprietor, employees or their actions. In this situation, the owner is responsible to practice a reasonable level of concern for the welfare of those legally visiting the premises. Since awareness of a hazard is so hard to establish, a claim of danger purposefully designed by the owner would have a greater chance of success.

When is a Landlord Liable for a Tenant’s Injuries?
Texas state law differentiates between an injury suffered in an area “reserved for common use” and one which takes place in a space leased to the tenant. Those spaces designated for common use refer to corridors, starirwells and parking lots. Leased spaces such as apartments are not so designated.

A landlord has to ensure that areas reserved for common use are safe within reason. Landlords are legally required to know a certain amount about hazardous conditions that cause injuries. For instance, a plaintiff would have to establish that a rail that fell on a shared porch was not maintained to a reasonable standard to safety. They would also have to prove that the landlord was aware or should have been aware that the rail did not meet this standard.

How about if someone is injured in a privately leased area instead of a designated shared space? If someone suffers injury caused by an unsafe or poorly maintained environment inside a leased space, the landlord could be liable. The landlord is required to inform tenants about any defects on the property they are aware of, especially those which the tenant may not discover in the process of casually inspecting the area. The tenant must be made aware of these potential hazards by the time they move in.

Frequent Types of Claims
These are many of the different kinds of claims that are often filed as premises liabilities:

• Slip and fall injuries: dangerous circumstances caused by spilled liquid or other debris on the floor, ripped carpeting, uneven sidewalk or tile, highly polished slick floor surface as well as other causes of slick conditions while failing to display proper signage or provide notification to visitors of stores, clubs, salons, restaurants, etc.
• Injury due to fallen elevator car: malfunction or fault in manufacture or upkeep causing an elevator car to drop, defective door or failure of closing device or sensor.
• Injuries on stairs: caused by lack of sturdy handrail, insufficient illumination, obstacles or known hazards on steps or any other disregard or negligent behavior which might result in a visitor having an accident and causing injury.
• Animal attacks: harm by an animal attacking a visitor on the premises, such as a dog on the owner’s property without proper restraint causing injury.
• Swimming pool drowning: the proprietor is required to take action to ensure the reasonable safety of their property. It is the owner’s duty to make ample provision to safe guard the lives of those visiting and resuscitate if necessary. If these are not provided, notifications have to be posted. As well as other aspects requiring consideration is if certain safety equipment or a lifeguard is present, the dimensions of the facility, tenants’ ages, descriptive features of the pool and typical usage of the complex. The owner of a private pool must exercise reasonable care for the presence of minors and maintain protection for uninvited children to prevent them from having access.
• Injury resulting from criminal acts: if criminal activity on the premises causes someone else injuries or death. Assault in parking lots or ramps due to negligence or lack of security, inadequate illumination as well as other types of negligent behavior. The reasonable degree of care which must be provided by the owner corresponds to the details surrounding the assault, predictability of such an occurrence and the history of crime in the neighborhood. Should such assaults or other varieties of criminal activity result in homicide, a wrongful death case may be filed if the property owner can be proved negligent.
• Municipal liability – injury accident on state or local government property resulting from negligent behavior.
• Injuries suffered in amusement park mishaps – Visitors hurt due to poorly maintained or malfunctioning rides and equipment, also defects or other negligence at an entertainment venue.
  Impact from merchandise falling from a store shelf
• Dram shop liability – a bar or restaurant that serves drinks to a patron past the point of intoxication, whereupon the customer drives and inflicts injury on someone else

Whether it’s a missing handrail, uneven or slick floor, a door that is improperly secured, inadequate illumination, negligence, poor maintenance and criminal activity may cause you to be seriously injured or a family member to suffer a lethal accident. If any of these should befall you or someone close to you, then you could be entitled to pursue monetary damages by way of legislation for premises liability. To secure compensation in this type of case, a plaintiff has to establish the existence of a dangerous condition, awareness on the part of the proprietor regarding the hazard and that this situation caused injury. In addition, it is the victim’s burden to justify the amount of claimed restitution. Satisfying these conditions can be difficult and you are most probably going to need to secure the help of a skilled lawyer to successfully recover damages in a premises liability suit.

Michael Grossman and the associates at Grossman Law Offices have been winning premises liability claims for more than two decades. During this time, we have established a reputation for toughness while helping to win millions at trial and in settlements all over Texas. Contact us right away to consult an attorney free of charge at 1-855-239-1290 if you or a loved one has suffered injury on property belonging to somebody else. We look forward to helping you find answers for your questions concerning the details of your claim. From there, we can lend you a hand in verifying if your situation is grounds for successful litigation. We will work to help you find justice as well as the compensation you deserve just as we have worked for the benefit of thousands who have suffered personal injuries.