Unfamiliar territory can pose a threat to even the most nimble and athletic people. Unseen hazards on someone else’s property could cause you to slip, trip, stumble, and fall—and when this happens, the injuries that you can sustain can be surprisingly severe. Under the law, all property owners and managers owe a duty of care to keep visitors safe. As a result, an injured person may seek compensation from a negligent landowner after an accident on their property. Doing so efficiently and effectively often requires the legal representation and guidance of an experienced Holiday premises liability lawyer. If you or a loved one suffered severe injuries following an accident on another individual’s property, consult an adept personal injury attorney. They could review the factors that may have contributed to your accident and work to hold the careless property owner accountable for their negligence.
The Legal Duties of a Landowner
Owning property comes with both rights and responsibilities. One of the most important responsibilities is to ensure that visitors are kept reasonably safe from hazards while they are on the property. Unfortunately, many landowners fail to take this responsibility seriously, especially when it would cost them a significant amount of money to fix the hazard or maintain their premises in a way that ensures everyone is kept safe.
This legal duty to keep premises safe is not purely theoretical. It has practical applications and duties attached, including responsibilities for preventative actions like:
- Maintaining the steps and handrails of commonly-used stairways
- Keeping aisles in grocery stores clean and free from slippery substances
- Warning visitors of dangerous and hidden sinkholes in the ground
- Fencing and securing backyard swimming pools from interested children who are likely to be unaware of the danger
Falling Accidents Inside Businesses
One of the most common premises liability situations in Holiday is when someone visits a store or business and, while they are shopping, injures themselves due to slipping or tripping on or over a dangerous condition within the store. Under Florida Statutes §768.0755, a Holiday premises liability lawyer could work to hold the store owner accountable and require them to pay compensation for the victim’s injuries and other losses.
To do so, however, they or the victim they represent must be able to show that the store owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition and reasonably should have taken action to remedy it. Proving that the store owner should have known of a dangerous condition—like a pool of liquid on the floor of a grocery store, or a loose tile that could trip an unsuspecting shopper—typically depends on one or both of two types of evidence.
The first is that the danger already caused other people to fall, putting the store owner on notice that it was a danger to customers. The second is that the hazard was there for long enough that the store owner should have become aware of its existence by exercising ordinary care and attention for the safety of their customers.
Time Limits on Filing Claims
It is important to note that potential plaintiffs in premises liability cases do not have unlimited time to decide whether to pursue their rights to compensation in court. Instead, Fla. Stat. §95.11(3)(a) requires injury victims to file their initial complaint within four years. Consulting with a premises liability attorney in Holiday well before this timeframe has elapsed may be essential to putting together an effective case.
Speak with a Holiday Premises Liability Attorney
If you have fallen and gotten hurt on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses and your injuries. Talking with a Holiday premises liability lawyer could be the best way to find out what your rights are, as well as how much you may be able to recover in compensation if you pursue them in court. Call today see what may be possible in your case.
