Premises liability is the body of law that applies when you get hurt on someone else’s property. Whether you suffered injuries in Coconut Creek, FL because of a hazardous condition or a slip and fall, you might have a claim for compensation. Discuss the details of your case today with a premises liability lawyer in Coconut Creek, FL.
Elements of Negligence for Premises Liability Injury Claims
The law requires that someone’s carelessness, also called negligence, caused your harm. If you got hurt, but no one was negligent, you are unlikely to receive compensation. On the other hand, if someone’s mistake resulted in your injuries, the law can make them pay you damages.
We have to prove all three of these factors to hold someone liable for your losses:
- The person or party owed you a duty of care. Let’s say that someone was staying in a Coconut Creek hotel. The hotel had a duty to take reasonable measures to ensure the guest’s safety.
- The person or party breached the duty of care. Failing to measure up to the duty of care is negligence. In our example, the hotel’s guest room key encoder machine was not working, so the front desk staff gave guests “blank” plastic keys. The manager disabled the guest room electronic door locks so that people could get into their rooms. Failing to provide working door locks in a hotel is negligence.
- The negligence caused or directly contributed to the injuries. Someone discovered that the doors were unlocked and robbed several rooms when the guests were out sightseeing. The burglar assaulted a guest who returned early. The hotel manager’s negligence caused or directly contributed to the harm.
Damages Available in Premises Liability Cases
You can get compensation for the same kinds of losses in a premises liability claim that you can recover in any other negligence action. For example, the hotel could be responsible for the injured hotel guest’s damages like:
- Medical bills. Any reasonable expenses that were necessary to treat the guest’s injuries from the assault. These costs can include things like the ambulance, emergency room, hospital, diagnostic testing like lab work and x-rays, surgery, doctors, prescription drugs, and physical therapy.
- Lost wages. If the plaintiff (injured hotel guest) missed work because of the injuries, she can collect her lost wages, salary, or other income.
- Property damage. The hotel can owe the plaintiff compensation for property that the burglar damaged since the hotel’s negligence made it possible for the crime to happen.
- Pain and suffering. Merely paying a person’s medical bills does not honor what the person went through in terms of physical pain, mental distress, and inconvenience.
- Emotional harm. Many people suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other emotional disturbances after a violent attack.
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Premises Liability Can Happen on Commercial or Residential Property
Premises liability claims are not limited to business or commercial property. If, for example, your neighbor has a hazardous condition on his land and you get hurt by it, your neighbor might have to pay you compensation. Injuries that take place on private property often fall under the homeowner’s insurance policy.
Scenarios Involving Premises Liability
“Premises liability” is not a term you tend to hear in everyday conversation, so most people do not know what kinds of situations can give rise to a claim. You should talk to a premises liability lawyer in Coconut Creek, FL if you or a loved one experiences an injury on someone else’s property. Here are some examples:
- You get hurt at or around a swimming pool that is not on your property. The pool could be at a hotel, park, friend’s house, apartment complex, neighborhood swim club, or a public pool. The injury can take place inside the pool, such as a near-drowning or a diving injury, or in the area surrounding the pool from a slip and fall or some other cause.
- You slip and fall on an icy sidewalk or parking lot outside a shopping mall, on a spilled drink on the floor inside a movie theater, or a slick area in a grocery store or restaurant.
- A downtown high-rise apartment building has experienced a rash of break-ins. The building has security measures, like locks on all the entry points, but one of the locks does not work and the manager has not fixed it for three months. If someone gets injured as a result, the apartment building owner is liable because the dangerous condition that allowed the harm to happen.
- The fire department and health inspector have warned a restaurant owner that the storage of used cooking grease is a fire hazard, but the owner has failed to comply with the recommended remedies. The restaurant caught fire. Several patrons sustained severe burns and smoke inhalation. The hazardous condition makes the owner liable for the injuries.
What Happens if You Were Partly at Fault
Do not listen to the guilty party if they say that you cannot get any compensation because you were partly at fault. Florida has a law that protects you in this situation. The comparative fault doctrine allows you to recover some compensation even if you made a mistake that was partly to blame for your injuries. We will discuss how this works when we meet with you.
If you got hurt on someone else’s property, you should speak with a premises liability lawyer in Coconut Creek, FL at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. You do not have to figure out the negligence, liability, or other legal issues. We will explain all that when we talk to you. Call 1-800-747-3733 to schedule your free consultation. There is no obligation.
