What Is Premises Liability Law?

If you were injured on someone’s property, you may be entitled to compensation through a premises liability lawsuit.

What Is a Premises Liability Claim?

A premises liability claim is a legal action brought by someone who has suffered injuries as a result of unsafe conditions on another person’s property.

“Landowners or business owners have duty of care to their guests or customers to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition for use,” explains Brett A. Carter, a personal injury law attorney at Bertoldo Carter Smith & Cullen in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Liability will only arise if the business owner or landowner either created a danger, knew of the danger, or should have known of the danger and then failed to correct it.”

What Are the Most Common Premises Liability Accidents?

Slip and fall accidents are some of the most common types of premises liability cases. A slip and fall claim could arise if a grocery store employee fails to mop or place signage around wet floors, resulting in a customer’s fall. But there are many other types of injuries that can occur because property owners created or didn’t fix unsafe property conditions or failed to warn others — everything from swimming pool accidents to amusement park accidents to dog bites to uneven carpeting.

“People are obviously well aware of the common premises liability case of a slip or trip and fall,” says Carter. “But there are other types of cases involving hazards on property that could result in injury — falling merchandise, runaway carts, things breaking. A case could even involve things that happen on the property, such as sexual assault in a hotel or casino.”

How Do You Prove a Premises Liability Claim?

Your premises liability case will most likely be based on negligence. To be successful, you will need to prove that the owner failed to use reasonable care in the maintenance of their property or in warning others of unsafe conditions on the property, which in turn led to your injuries.

Do Property Owners Owe the Same Duty of Care to Everyone Who Comes on Their Property?

The level of care that property owners owe people on their property depends on the jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions require landowners to exercise reasonable care with respect to everyone, regardless of why they’re on the property, but some jurisdictions establish different levels of care depending on your status on their land.

“There are some states that try to distinguish a property owner’s responsibility based on the status of the individual on the property,” Carter explains. “However, it seems that most states recognize that landowners have a duty to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition regardless of status. And, if the owner knows of a hazard, they have a duty to try to correct it and warn others about it until they’ve removed the danger.”

In states that do distinguish based on status, there are three general categories: Invitee, licensee, and trespasser. Let’s look at these in more depth.

Invitee

Invitees are people who are invited onto someone’s property to do business with the property owner or because they have some contractual relationship with the owner. Customers who come into a store to shop are a typical example. An implied permission to enter exists when the shop is on the land and open to the public.

The owner or occupier of the land owes an ordinary level of care to invitees. This means that the possessor should maintain the property in a way that a reasonable person would. If the possessor does not do this, they will be liable for injuries that result.

Licensee

This status applies to individuals such as salespeople who come on the possessor’s land for their own purposes rather than for the benefit of the property owner. Social guests, or people invited onto the property for social gatherings, are another type of licensee.

The landowner usually doesn’t owe licensees the same level of care they owe invitees. Generally, property owners must warn licensees about dangerous conditions that create an unreasonable risk.

Trespasser

Trespassers are people who are not authorized to be on the owner’s land. While property owners generally owe no duty of care to trespassers, there is an exception for children under the attractive nuisance rule. According to attractive nuisance, landowners have a duty to avoid reasonably foreseeable risks to children caused by artificial conditions on the property that are alluring to children. Examples of attractive nuisances include swimming pools, mounds of debris, or pits that would attract kids to play around.

“If the property is secured and someone breaks into it or trespasses, you can understand why some states may want to protect the owner under those circumstances,” says Carter. “But again, the duty of property owners comes down to reasonable care and also foreseeability. If the landowner could reasonably expect that someone could come into contact with a danger on their property, most states will be willing to hold that landowner responsible for not fixing the danger. But, jurisdictions do differ in how they handle this, and it ultimately comes down to state law.”

Are Employers Liable if Their Employee Causes Injury?

Yes. “The law can hold employers liable for their employees’ intentional acts when it is reasonably foreseeable under the facts and circumstances. Obviously, employees are human, and humans can act out. It’s not unheard of that employees will get into it with customers. Sometimes, these altercations turn physical and can result in injury,” explains Carter.

“Courts will look at whether similar incidents involving the employee or other employees in similar opportunities and circumstances have happened before, which should have put the employer on notice that this could occur. The question is essentially foreseeability. Employers have to teach their employees about de-escalation and properly train and supervise them in handling tense situations. They could be liable if they failed to properly anticipate and take these steps to prevent such incidents.”

Can I Still Get Compensation if I Sign a Liability Waiver?

“States vary on the question of waivers of liability,” says Carter, “but often the central issue is the specificity of the waiver: Did the customer sign a waiver that was specific enough for them to be aware of the specific danger? Was the individual aware of the specific risk they were waiving?”

Carter cites as an example a case involving a ski resort. “In that particular case, the waiver mentioned ‘risk inherent in the activity.’ Well, what exactly does that mean? It’s very vague. This is where courts will examine specificity. It’s one thing if someone collides with another skier or falls on a hard run and tears their ACL. Maybe the reasonable person standard would say these things were an inherent risk of the activity. But what if you’re getting on the ski lift and the ski lift operator has it moving at too fast a speed, which creates danger because they can’t safely assist people on and off? If that results in injury, it’s arguable that the waiver’s scope of risk did not include the ski lift operation, and you have a viable case. It’s very much a case-by-case analysis.”

The bottom line, Carter says, is “states do differ on the question of liability waivers, which is a good reason to speak with a lawyer and determine whether or not, under your particular circumstances, there is a possibility of a case.”

Are There Limits on How Much You Can Recover in a Premises Liability Case?

Most jurisdictions look at whether the injured person was partly responsible for getting injured on someone else’s property. How this issue gets resolved varies by state:

• Contributory negligence. In states with contributory negligence, you could be barred from recovering any damages if you were even a little bit at fault for what happened.
• Comparative negligence. In comparative negligence states, by contrast, the court or jury will assign a percentage of fault to each party. For example, if your injuries resulted in $100,000 in damages, but the jury found that you were 10 percent at fault, your recovery will be reduced by 10 percent, and you will recover $90,000.

“As a lawyer practicing in Las Vegas — and you can apply this to any other tourist hub or place where people are going to have a good time — we look at whether or not, at the time of the injury, the individual was acting in a reasonable manner under the circumstances,” says Carter.

“For example, say you have a case of someone who is dressed up at a nightclub — maybe they’ve had a few drinks and are wearing high heels, go out on the dance floor, and fall, getting injured. We discover a problem with the dance floor, but what about the fact that the individual was drinking and wearing high heels? Is that negligence on their part, or simply someone acting reasonably under the circumstances of being at a nightclub? It’s clearly foreseeable to the owner. You could probably poll different individuals and come up with different opinions on that issue. Ultimately, a jury would decide whether the person acted reasonably under the circumstances and potentially reduce their compensation based on that.”

Find the Right Attorney for Your Needs

If you have suffered injuries from a hazard or incident on someone else’s property, consider reaching out to a premises liability lawyer for legal advice tailored to your situation. Visit the Super Lawyers directory to find an experienced premises liability lawyer in your area.

Premises Liability Attorney FAQs

Below are some common questions you might want to consider when meeting with a personal injury lawyer about premises liability attorney and getting legal advice for the first time.

Based on the description of my accident, do you think I have a valid premises liability claim?

A key goal of the initial consultation if for you to get a sense from the attorney of whether your case if worthwhile. This questions allows you to get a professional opinion on the viability of your case based on the facts you provide. It’s important to provide as much information as you can.

How do you typically handle premises liability cases, and what can I expect during the process?

This question helps set expectations about the legal process, including timelines, stages of a personal injury case, and communications with the lawyer.

Can you explain your fee structure and any potential costs I might incur during my premises liability case?

Most premises liability lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront legal fees. However, every lawyer is different, and knowing the financial aspect of legal representation is key for planning. Asking this question ensures there are no surprises regarding legal fees and related costs.

What is the statute of limitations for filing a premises liability claim, and does my case fall within that time frame?

Understanding the time limit for legally filing a claim is crucial, as failing to file within this period can result in losing the right to pursue compensation. This question ensures that the client is aware of these critical deadlines.

What types of compensation are typically available in premises liability cases?

This question helps the client understand the different forms of compensation they might pursue, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and possibly punitive damages, depending on the specifics of their case and whether there were serious injuries.