Premises liability is the concept that an individual who is responsible for property is also responsible for injuries that may occur on that property. In other words, if you slip and fall due to unsafe conditions in the lobby of an apartment building, you can work with a personal injury lawyer near Livermore to demand that the property owner or manager be held liable for your injuries. These types of cases are commonly referred to as slip and fall cases. Proving liability, or fault, in a slip and fall case can be complicated. You can turn to a personal injury lawyer for guidance on applicable laws.
Proving Liability
There are a few ways in which your personal injury lawyer might prove to the court that the property owner or manager should be held liable for your losses. Your injury lawyer may present evidence that demonstrates the defendant knew of the dangerous condition, yet failed to address the situation. Or, the property owner should have known of the dangerous condition. Since this can be quite difficult to prove, the court will consider whether any “reasonable” individual in the same situation would have been likely to know of the dangerous conditions. Less commonly, your personal injury lawyer might present evidence that suggests the defendant or an employee of the defendant caused the dangerous condition and failed to fix the situation before you suffered an injury.
Establishing “Reasonableness”
Establishing the “reasonableness” of a property owner can be complicated. The court will consider whether there is any evidence that demonstrates the property owner regularly and adequately attempted to keep the property safe. For example, the court might consider whether the property owner has maintenance logs that demonstrate regular procedures for property upkeep. The court may also consider the length of time that the unsafe condition was present. For example, you might slip and fall in a puddle of spilled coffee in a diner. If another patron spilled the coffee only minutes before you fell, it might be argued that the property owner does indeed take reasonable safety precautions. However, if the coffee spill had been on the floor for a few hours, the property owner or the employees are much more likely to know of the problem and to be held liable for your injuries .