If you were injured on public property, most states require that you give notice to the appropriate governmental entity, such as the city, within a very short time period sometimes within as little as 30 days from the date of injury.

Premises Liability - An Overview

Every year, many people are hurt while in someone else's home or place of business. People may be injured on a flight of stairs, on a patch of ice or snow, by a building defect, or by the intentional, criminal act of a third party. Premises liability is the area of the law that establishes guidelines regarding duties that a property owner or occupier has to protect entrants from dangerous conditions or defects on the property. Generally, the law provides that property owners must keep their premises reasonably safe for people who are on the property.

If you have been injured while on property belonging to someone else, it is essential that you seek legal advice as soon as possible. Call today to schedule a consultation with a personal injury attorney to discuss your case.

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Keeping the Premises Safe

A property owner or a person in possession of property has a legal responsibility to keep the premises safe. These responsibilities vary from state to state, and they vary based on how the entrant to the property is classified. An attorney who is knowledgeable about the law of premises liability can advise you regarding the applicable duties of the property owner.

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Toxic Substances on the Property

Toxic substances may include numerous things, including some you may not think of as particularly hazardous or some that were not regarded as dangerous when they were used. Examples include such common products as asbestos shingles or insulation, lead-based paint, mold and fluids drained from motor vehicles.

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Criminal Acts by Third Parties

A common type of premise liability case arises where a person is injured by the intentional, criminal acts of a third party while on another's property. Generally, a landowner does not have a duty to protect people on his or her property from criminal acts by third persons, absent a special relationship. A commercial property owner is not an insurer of the safety of the customers entering the space, and has no duty to protect against unforeseeable criminal actions.

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Liability of Tenants and Landlords

There are situations in which it might be advisable to include both a tenant and landlord as defendants in a premises liability suit. For example, if you are injured in a store, but the store owner is a tenant and the shopping center is actually owned by a separate landlord. Another example is if you are injured while visiting a friend's apartment. Generally, a landlord owes tenants a duty to use reasonable care and a duty to tenants and visitors to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition.

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Duties Owed By Property Owners and Occupiers

In many states, property owners and possessors owe different degrees of responsibility, or duties, to people who come onto their property, depending on how such people are categorized. The law recognizes three main categories of people who might be on someone else's property: invitees, licensees and trespassers. In states that still distinguish among these categories of people, the legal duty owed by the property owner or occupier to each category is different.

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Premises Liability Resource Links

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Features labor data, surveys, publications and more.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Health Topic: Injury and Violence
Features information on accident and injury causes, prevention and statistics.

MedlinePlus
Features articles on accident prevention and safety. Sponsored by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

National Safety Council
Features home, environment and workplace safety resources.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
This Web site has information and links about preventing workplace injuries and illnesses.

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