Whether you visit a personal home or business, if the owner hasn’t taken care of an issue that has the potential to cause injury, they are considered to be negligent under the law. You may have also been injured in an auto accident that wasn’t your fault, or were bitten by a dog that wasn’t on the owner’s property. Whatever the specific cause is, taking action should be your first priority to recover losses.
Premises Liability
Premises liability develops when someone comes onto a property and is injured because of a hazard. If, for instance, accumulated snow and ice have not been cleared before you enter a business and you fall, the property owner may be liable for the injuries you suffer.
Personal Injury
You have to be able to prove to a judge that you have been injured. Using the dog bite as an example, have your doctor take photographs that document that injury. You’ll need the photos and copies of your medical records to show to the judge when you go to court to argue your personal injury claim. You also have to show that the property owner was at fault for not correcting the situation that led to your injury. Again, using the dog bite as an example, the property owner should have known that the dog might bite a visitor to their home and put the dog into a separate room.
Having a Personal Injury Claim
The judge has to find evidence that the property owner neglected their responsibility to visitors, thus creating a situation that led to an injury. Even if you go into someone’s home and they tell you, “be careful of Bruno,” if they fail to secure Bruno and you are bitten even if you didn’t do anything to antagonize him, they are liable. It’s important to know when the other party is liable, and a lawyer can help make your case.
Reasonable Conduct and Responsibility
The law says that we have responsibilities to others. If a home or business owner fails to live up to their responsibilities, they will be held legally liable for any injuries you may suffer from their neglect. If you did anything that led to your injury, the court will find you and the property owner responsible. That is, you may be able to win a legal judgment based on the property owner’s negligence, but because you own a share of the blame, your award may be smaller.
Property owners hold legal responsibility to make sure that their businesses or homes are safe for visitors who enter the premises. If they fail to exercise reasonable conduct and neglect an unsafe condition, they can be held legally liable for anyone who is injured as a result of their negligence.
Informational credit to the law offices of Charles P. Dargo.
Image courtesy of Kittisak via freedigitalphotos.net.
This article is courtesy of Anita Ginsburg, a freelance writer from Denver who often writes about home, family, law and business. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family when she isn’t writing.
