Premises Liability: Property Owner Responsibilities

December 19, 2016

In most states, premises liability laws require property owners to take reasonable care in maintaining their properties and state that they can be held responsible for any injuries that occur as a result of their negligence.

Premises liability is often involved in personal injury lawsuits. If the conditions that caused your injury were the direct result of the property owner’s failure to upkeep the property, then the owner can be held liable.

Most states legally require property owners to maintain their properties for the safety of any who might enter. People visiting a property are divided into three categories:

• Invitees: This typically consist of friends, relatives and neighbors who have the landowner’s expressed permission to enter the property. The landowner has a direct responsibility to uphold the conditions of his or her property to ensure invitees’ safety.
• Licensees: This often includes sales people or maintenance workers who are coming onto the landowner’s property for their own purposes and with the owner’s permission. Property owners generally have a lesser duty of care if a licensee is injured, but are still required to provide a warning of any unsafe conditions.
• Trespassers: This is someone who is not authorized to be on the property. The landowner has no direct responsibility for a trespasser, unless it is a child. In this instance, property owners should exercise reasonable care to avoid any predictable harm that could occur.

Not all injuries occurring on another’s property are the result of negligence. Even if a property has been deemed unsafe, the burden of proof lies upon the plaintiff to prove that these conditions directly caused the injury. The plaintiff must provide evidence that the property owner knew that unsafe conditions were present and failed to take measures to correct and improve the property.

If you or a loved one has been injured on another person’s property due to its poor or dangerous conditions, you may be entitled to file a claim. The Phoenix premises liability lawyers at Phillips Law Group are dedicated to fighting for the rights of the injured and will provide you with a free consultation to determine if you are entitled to compensation.

Call 1-800-706-3000 or fill out our online Free Case Evaluationform today.