When you step onto someone else’s property, you have a reasonable expectation that the space won’t put you in harm’s way. Unfortunately, hazardous conditions like wet floors, broken staircases, and poorly lit walkways injure thousands of people each year. In many of these cases, the injured party has legal grounds to pursue compensation through a lawsuit.
At the heart of nearly every successful premises liability claim is a single concept: negligence. By proving that a property owner failed to uphold their legal duty to maintain safe conditions, victims of these accidents can recover a personal injury settlement they need to rebuild their lives.
What Constitutes Negligence by a Property Owner?
Whether a property owner acted negligently depends largely on the legal status of the person who was injured. The law recognizes three categories of visitors, each owed a different level of care:
- Invitees: These are individuals who enter a property with the owner’s permission, usually for business-related purposes, such as shoppers at a store or patrons at a restaurant. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care. Owners must routinely inspect the premises for hidden dangers they may not yet know about and take reasonable steps to shield invitees from foreseeable harm.
- Licensees: These are social guests permitted on the property through the owner’s express or implied consent, including friends, relatives, or someone stopping by to view the premises. The duty owed to licensees is somewhat reduced, but owners are still required to address known hazards and provide warnings about any dangerous conditions they are aware of.
- Trespassers: These are individuals who enter the property unlawfully or refuse to leave when asked. The duty owed here is minimal, and owners generally aren’t held responsible for trespasser injuries. However, they cannot intentionally harm trespassers.
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Common Examples of Property Owner Negligence
Property owner negligence can take many forms, but some hazards appear far more often than others. Common examples include:
- Slippery floors without caution signs
- Broken or missing handrails
- Cracked pavement in parking lots
- Inadequate lighting in stairwells or garages
- Falling merchandise in stores
- Unsecured swimming pools
- Malfunctioning elevators
- Insufficient security in areas prone to criminal activity
How to Prove That a Property Owner Acted Negligently
To prove negligence in a premises liability lawsuit, you and your attorney will need to establish the presence of four important facts:
- Duty of Care: You must show that the property owner owed you a legal duty based on your visitor status at the time of the incident.
- Breach of Duty: The evidence must demonstrate that the owner failed to meet that duty by either creating a hazard, ignoring a known danger, or neglecting to inspect the premises.
- Causation: The breach must be directly linked to your injury, meaning the unsafe condition was the cause of the harm you suffered.
- Damages: You must have experienced real, measurable losses due to the accident, such as medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, or property damage.
Trust Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe to Help You Seek Justice
If you have been injured because a property owner failed to keep their premises safe, Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe will fight for the compensation you deserve. For years, our Kansas City premises liability attorneys have fought for the rights of the injured, and we won’t rest until we have secured a fair recovery on your behalf. Call our office today or reach out through our online form to schedule your free consultation.