Personal injury cases often result from accidents on someone else’s property. These accidents can be due to slip-and-fall, or a trip on uneven flooring.
In all of the injuries, property owners can be held accountable for the harm caused on their premises if they fail to provide safety measures.
However, proving liability in these cases requires specific evidence and a good understanding of legal strategies. If you’ve suffered injuries due to a property owner’s negligence, understanding how to hold them liable is crucial for securing fair compensation.
Let’s read about some ways you can establish a property owner’s liability in a personal injury case.
Prove the Property Owner’s Duty of Care
The first step in holding a property owner liable is to prove that they owe you a duty of care. Property owners are generally required to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for visitors. The level of duty owed depends on the type of visitor you were—invitee, licensee, or trespasser.
Invitees, such as customers in a store, are owed the highest duty of care. Property owners must regularly inspect their premises for hazards and address them promptly. For licensees, like social guests, the duty involves warning them of known dangers.
Even trespassers are owed limited care, especially if the property owner knows their presence is likely (e.g., children near an attractive nuisance like a pool). Establishing this duty is the foundation of your case.
Prove Breach of Duty
Once you’ve established that the property owner owed you a duty of care, you must show how they breached this duty. A breach occurs when the property owner fails to act as a reasonable person would in maintaining their premises. This could involve neglecting repairs, failing to warn visitors of hazards, or ignoring safety protocols.
For example, if a store owner knew about a wet floor but did not place warning signs or clean it up promptly, they breached their duty of care. Evidence such as maintenance records, photographs, or witness statements can help illustrate this failure and build your case.
Collect Evidence of the Hazard
To hold a property owner liable, you must provide evidence of the hazardous condition that caused your injury. Take photographs or videos of the dangerous area as soon as possible after the incident. Capture details like broken stairs, slippery surfaces, poor lighting, or uneven flooring.
Additionally, evidence must be gathered that proves the hazard existed long enough for the property owner to address it. This could include security footage, timestamps on maintenance logs, or witness testimony. Strong documentation is essential for demonstrating the property owner’s negligence.
Prove the Hazard Should Have been Known
Property owners cannot be held liable for hazards they didn’t know about or couldn’t have reasonably foreseen. However, if the hazardous condition existed for a sufficient amount of time, the owner “should have known” about it.
For example, if a spill remained on the floor for hours before your injury, the property owner or their employees had ample time to notice and clean it up. Similarly, evidence of long-term neglect, such as deteriorating stairs or recurring leaks, can support your argument that the property owner was aware of the danger.
Work with Legal Representation
Dealing with uncooperative property owners or their insurers can be very difficult. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you build a strong case by gathering evidence, consulting experts, and negotiating with opposing parties.
You can consult a reputable lawyer holding negligent property owners accountable for their negligence. They will help you prove liability in such cases and protect your rights. Not only this, an experienced lawyer can help you secure the right amount of compensation from the property owner and the insurance company.
Their expertise ensures that you meet all legal deadlines, avoid procedural errors, and maximize your compensation.
Establish the Cause of Your Injury
It’s not enough to prove that a hazard existed—you must also show that it directly caused your injury. This involves linking the dangerous condition on the property to the harm you suffered. For instance, if you slipped on a wet floor and fractured your wrist, medical records and incident reports can establish causation.
Be prepared for the defense to argue that your injury was pre-existing or caused by something unrelated to the accident. Having a medical professional document your injuries and explain how they relate to the incident can effectively counter these claims.
Demonstrate Negligent Maintenance
Negligent maintenance is a common factor in personal injury cases. Property owners are responsible for ensuring that their premises are regularly inspected and properly maintained. Failure to address known issues, such as broken handrails, loose tiles, or faulty wiring, constitutes negligence.
If your injury resulted from such a condition, obtaining maintenance logs, repair requests, or inspection records can be critical. These documents show whether the property owner took reasonable steps to address the issue or ignored their responsibility.
Highlight Lack of Warning Signs
Property owners are required to warn visitors of potential dangers on their premises. This is especially true for hazards that cannot be immediately fixed, such as wet floors, ongoing construction, or exposed wires. Failure to provide clear warnings—such as signs, cones, or barriers—can be considered negligence.
It happens in many personal injury cases that you tripped over a freshly mopped floor with no warning signs in place. In such cases, the property owner may be held liable. Witnesses and photographic evidence can help demonstrate that the property owner failed to take appropriate precautions.
Show Violations of Safety Codes
Violating local, state, or federal safety regulations can significantly strengthen your case. Building codes, fire safety laws, and ADA compliance standards exist to protect public safety. A property owner who fails to adhere to these rules is inherently negligent.
For example, if your injury occurred because of a lack of handrails on a staircase or non-compliant wheelchair ramps, you can use these violations to establish liability. A legal expert or building inspector can help identify and document these infractions.
Establish the Property Owner’s Control Over the Area
To hold someone liable, you must confirm that they had control over the property where the injury occurred. In some cases, this can be complicated, such as when the property is rented or managed by a third party.
In these cases, a landlord may be responsible for maintaining common areas in an apartment complex, while individual tenants handle their units. Identifying the party responsible for the hazard is critical to pursuing the right claim and avoiding unnecessary legal complications.
