What is Premises Liability? Every year, more than 8 million hospital ER visits are attributed to slip and falls. If you are hurt on another person’s property, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.
Premises liability attorneys help those who are injured by offering guidance through the claim process to ensure you maximize your settlement amount.
When homeowners purchase their coverage through any insurance carrier, they understand that their policy covers them in case of a fire. But what else does this insurance cover?
There are many other issues that pop up all too frequently throughout the year. When you invite friends, family, or anyone over to your property, and someone is injured, you may find yourself asking, “If someone falls on your property are you liable?” The answer can be quite complex.
First, you must determine their status as a visitor. Were they invited onto the property with the owner’s knowledge? An example of an invitee is someone who goes to patron a restaurant.
If an invitee is injured on your property, they have the legal right to sue. As an owner, you should be aware of any risks on your property and take care to ensure safety compliance.
There are also licensee visitors. These are people that are invited onto someone’s property for a personal reason. For example, friends and family members coming over to your house.
Licensees are also able to sue after an injury on your property. As an owner, it’s your job to warn visitors of any hazards on your property and ensure their safety.
The final category of visitors to your property is trespassers. If someone comes to your property without your knowledge or consent, then you cannot be held liable for their actions while they are there.
Making sure your property is a safe place for visitors is your duty as a home or business owner. Under a premises liability insurance policy, you can get protection for a variety of different types of accidents. However, this is not the only step you can take to protect your interests.
If someone slips on the floor at your property, falls off of your trampoline, or gets hurt in almost any way while on your premises, you can be held liable. These tips can help you to be prepared from a legal standpoint.
If your home or business is not in a safe condition, then you are at risk of being held liable in a lawsuit if someone is hurt on your property.
Some of the most common scenarios involve the following:
While it may be easy to ignore deteriorating conditions in the short term to save money, if they make your property a more risky place then it can cost you in the long run. Look for ways to improve the safety of your property today.
A liability insurance policy will protect you in the event someone sues you for an injury on your property. A proactive idea could involve asking your insurance company to send someone out to your home or business to inspect the area for potential issues.
They will give you advice on many things you can do to make the area safer for visitors or your employees. For many insurance providers, this service is complimentary since a safer workplace or home for you means fewer payouts they have to make in the future.
Although posting a sign will not completely protect you from liability in the event of an accident, it’s a good start. If you own a business, you may place signs preventing people from bringing food and beverages into your store. It can’t prevent them from choosing to do so, but it goes a long way towards preventing spills and showing that you’re proactive about safety.
You may also post signs about a slippery floor or icy sidewalk. As well, many people choose to place No Trespassing signs on areas of their home or property where they do not want anyone to go due to the danger of the area.
If you own a home or business, you should take care to make sure that it’s a safe environment for visitors. Check your electrical systems and make sure that wires are securely in place. Look for leaky pipes and get holes in your floor fixed as soon as possible. Importantly, also make sure walkways are free of debris and handrails are stable and installed correctly.
As a business owner, it’s even more important to inspect your property frequently. Make sure that all of your employees are up to date on their safety training and your property is kept free of any unreasonable dangers or hazards, both inside and outside.
When there is an accident that takes place at your business or home, it’s important that you get ahead of the problem. Make an accurate report of the incident as soon as it happens.
Pay particular attention to the condition of your floors and obstructions in your walkways. The more proactive you are with workplace safety, the better you can prevent incidents from happening in the first place.
If you have any questions about your insurance policy or about a particular issue that you are concerned with on your property, please feel free to contact one of our local personal injury offices.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have for free. We never charge for phone calls or answering questions. It is a passion of ours to help and look out for anyone in need.
According to the National Safety Council, compensation for slip and fall accidents reaches about $70 billion in payouts every year and even more is spent on compensating those that are injured at friend’s or family member’s properties.
If you’re having difficulty living your day to day life because of an injury after an accident, you should hire a lawyer and file a claim. You can be compensated for the cost of your medical bills, treatments, and any pain and suffering that occurs.
Property owners are legally obligated to provide a safe environment for visitors. If you’re injured in an accident, you are entitled to recover compensation for the pain and suffering you’ve endured, as well as for your out of pocket expenses and medical bills.
Whether there was a safety hazard on the premises or the entire incident was an accident, you have rights and protections under premises liability laws.
However, the number one thing to keep in mind is to get medical treatment as soon as possible. This comes above all else. The more quickly you receive medical care after an incident, the more likely you are to heal completely. Moreover, many times it is impossible to make a claim over an injury if you never sought medical care or treatment.
As soon as you have addressed your injuries, you should create an incident report for the accident. An incident report is a written account of your injury and the circumstances of its occurrence. This report will be sent to the property owner’s insurance company as one of the first steps of the legal process.
Once your claim has been filed, it is important to gather evidence to support it. If the premises where you were injured has any security footage of the incident, it is imperative to obtain a copy of that video film before it is deleted or lost.
You may also want to look for witnesses to the event. Was there anyone with you at the time of the injury? If they can give a statement of their observations and how the accident happened, it can only serve to help you down the road if the insurance company tries to deny the incident.
>Try to secure your evidence as quickly as possible after an incident, the longer you wait the less likely you are to be able to track down the witnesses and get an accurate account of your incident.
In order to be successful in filing a premises liability claim, there are four major elements to your injury case.
First, you have to demonstrate that you were legally on the owner’s property as either an invitee or a licensee. This can either come in the form of being a guest to someone’s house or being a customer at a business. Interestingly, children have been classified differently under the laws of Kentucky and the rules are less strict when it comes to this element.
Next, you have to prove that the owner of the property was negligent in warning you of a hazard or remedying it. In some cases, the owner of the property may not know of the hazard which caused you injury. However, an issue arises when that same owner could have or should have, reasonably found the danger and fixed it before you were hurt.
Then, you have to show that the property owner’s negligence directly led to your injury. For example, if you fall in a hole or trip down a stairway and suffer an injury, the key here is to prove that the defect or danger caused your injury, and not because you were looking at your phone or you weren’t paying attention.
Finally, you will have to present your damages, which can come in the form of hospital bills, doctor bills, physical therapy or surgery. It can also come in the form of lost wages. This element is critical and furthers the importance of seeking care for your injuries as soon as possible.
Many times, winning your case comes down to proving that the occurrence was foreseeable and could have reasonably been prevented.
If you or a loved one was hurt due to a dangerous condition on someone’s property or even if you were hurt at a friend’s house, you should not hesitate to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to answer any of your questions. At Maze Law Offices, we understand the impact these injuries can have on your life and how stressful a premises liability accident can be.
We also understand that many people are looking for advice and guidance. This is why we provide absolutely free in-person or over the phone consultations with one of our personal injury lawyers.
If you decide to hire us for your injury accident, we never ask for any upfront costs and we only get paid when we win your case and recover a settlement on your behalf. Call Maze Law Offices today and ask us how we can help.
Personal Injury in Kentucky
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