Premises liability refers to a legal concept in which the owner or operator of a property may have liability in injury cases arising from injuries that occur on their premises.
Like other types of personal injury cases, premises liability cases hinge on negligence, but this time the negligence of property owners. A person filing a premises liability claim must be able to prove the property owner or operator was negligent with their ownership and/or maintenance of that property. This means a failure to abide by or employ reasonable care with regard to the property’s general upkeep and safety.
An injury on another person’s property does not automatically begin a premises liability claim. Again, there must have been some element of negligence, and not all injuries are born of negligence. In addition, the presence of an unsafe condition does not necessarily make the property owner negligent if they could not have reasonably known about the presence of the unsafe condition, or could not have reasonably taken steps to remedy the situation in time after discovering it.
There are many types of personal injury cases that fall under the umbrella of premises liability. Some of these common types of premises liability lawsuits include:
- Slip and fall cases
- Accidents involving snow or ice
- Amusement park accidents
- Dog bites (when they occur on the dog owner’s property)
- Swimming pool accidents
- Defective conditions
- Accidents or injuries resulting from inadequate building or grounds security
- Injuries or illnesses resulting from the presence of toxic chemicals or fumes
- Injuries resulting from flooding or water leaks
- Fires
- Escalator or elevator accidents
- Injuries resulting from inadequate building maintenance
To learn more about the various types of premises liability cases and what you need to prove in such a case, contact an experienced Sarasota, FL personal injury lawyer at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez & Walsh.