Accidents happen every day, but when you’re hurt on someone else’s property due to their negligence, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries. Most injuries can be traced to the property owner or someone else’s negligence other than the injured person’s fault.
Fortunately, when you get hurt on private or public premises because the property owner or manager of the property neglected to act with reasonable care to identify or fix hazards that caused your injuries, Kentucky law gives you options to pursue compensation, whether through a settlement or by filing a lawsuit.
A Lexington premises liability lawyer can speak with you in a free consultation, review the circumstances that led to your injury, help you determine what legal options you may have, and file a premises liability lawsuit on your behalf. The best personal injury attorney near you will help you seek justice and fight to protect your rights throughout the legal proceedings.
Premises liability claims involve dog bites, slip-and-falls, and pool accidents. Whether at a restaurant, playground, or parking lot, these incidents often happen due to the property owner’s failure to address hazards.
Often, premises liability accidents result in severe injuries, such as broken or fractured bones and severe brain damage. A local Lexington attorney experienced in premises liability law helps injured people recover their financial and emotional losses caused by premises liability accidents.
Typical losses include costs related to hospital bills, ongoing physical therapy, lost income, and reduced earning capacity, as well as mental anguish, psychological distress, pain, and suffering. Some injuries may also result in permanent scarring, which requires future and ongoing medical costs.
Kentucky law sets a strict deadline of one year to file a premises liability claim. Missing this deadline could prevent you from seeking compensation, making it critical to act quickly.
Specifically, Kentucky Revised Statutes § 413.140 says most people who get hurt because of a negligent property owner or a landowner’s poor property management have just one year to begin filing suit over their damages.
There are very few exceptions to this deadline, so contacting a premises liability lawyer in Lexington should be a top priority for anyone who thinks they may have grounds for a claim.
To secure compensation, you must prove the property owner was negligent. An experienced premises liability lawyer can gather evidence to demonstrate this and strengthen your case. An example of negligence is when a property owner owes the injured victim a duty of care, breaches the duty, and, by breaching that duty, causes the victim to suffer injuries and damages.
Property owners owe different levels of care to visitors. They owe the highest duty to invitees, like customers, and must ensure their property is safe. The duty is minimal for trespassers, except in exceptional cases like child trespassers.
While the negligent party in a premises liability case can be the property owner, manager, or tenant, the injured party most often pursues a settlement with the landowner or homeowner’s insurance company. This is frequently a concern for many people as they are understandably reluctant to file suit against a local business, friend, or family member.
However, regardless of whether it is a private person or a large corporation, liability insurance policies are in place for a reason, and the owner pays for these policies specifically to cover injuries that occur on the subject property.
While some insurance companies attempt to settle the case and do the right thing, others often do everything they can to deflect or push back against an assessment of liability for the property incident. This makes it all the more important to retain a top Lexington premises liability lawyer who can fight against these tactics.
Most of the time, private landowners are not considered liable for accidental injuries suffered by trespassers unless the owner did something to intentionally harm the trespasser, such as setting up traps. However, one notable exception to this rule can be important for parents of minor children.
Under the “attractive nuisance” doctrine, property owners who have things on their land, like swimming pools or construction equipment that might entice a curious child into trespassing, must ensure minor children cannot easily access them. A landowner who fails to meet this obligation may be held civilly liable for injuries suffered by a trespassing child due to that hazard.
In other words, this doctrine may allow parents of minor children to file suit on their injured child’s behalf under circumstances where an adult would otherwise not be able to. This doctrine assumes that the child is so young that they cannot understand the dangers of “attractive nuisances.” It does not apply in every situation involving an injury to a child under 18.
Proving a dangerous condition that caused your injury often requires strong evidence, like witness statements, medical records, and surveillance footage. A Kentucky premises liability lawyer can help gather and preserve this evidence to build a solid premises liability claim and prove a property owner’s negligence.
More often, though, establishing fault for an incident like this and providing specific damages requires some effort. The following is some of the evidence which can help a claim:
After you seek medical attention, assistance from a Lexington dangerous property attorney can be especially vital to collecting and preserving key information before it is lost or destroyed by homeowners or other people acting in bad faith.
Chandler Maze, Lexington Premises Liability Lawyer
When you or a child are hurt in a premises liability accident, you may be unsure who is legally responsible for your personal, financial, emotional, and psychological injuries.
Suppose you or your child have been injured on someone else’s property. In that case, a Lexington premises liability lawyer can help you determine who is responsible and what compensation you may be entitled to. Our law firm will guide you through each step, ensuring you understand your rights and options.
The best Lexington premises liability lawyers will use all the tools and strategies available to seek the most favorable outcome for your case.
A highly rated injury attorney could draw upon a wealth of experience handling these legal matters to determine what insurance bears liability for your injuries and build a strong case for damages that could give you the financial support you need to get proper medical care.
To learn more about starting a premises liability claim, call now and book your free consultation with a local attorney at Maze Law Offices.
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