What is Premises Liability?

Premises liability is a legal concept that holds property owners and occupiers responsible for injuries that occur on their property due to unsafe conditions. In Florida, understanding the nuances of premises liability claims can help you navigate the legal landscape if you've been injured on someone else's property.  Property owners generally have a duty to maintain a safe environment for visitors. This can apply to a range of properties, including residential homes, commercial establishments such as big box department stores, restaurants, hotels, and many other business, and public spaces. When an accident occurs due to negligence, the injured party may have grounds for a premises liability claim against the owner of the property and/or any other negligent party that is involved.

What are the Most Common Types of Premises Liability Cases?

While the list below is certainly not exhaustive, these are the most common types of premises liability cases:

1. Slip and Fall and Trip and Fall accidents: One of the most common premises liability claims, these occur when a person slips, trips, or falls due to hazards like wet floors, uneven surfaces, or poor lighting.  Read our article, Slip and Fall / Trip and Fall, for an in-depth look into this area.
2. Dog Bites: Property owners can be held liable if their dog bites or attacks someone on their property.
3. Inadequate Security: If a lack of security measures, such as proper lighting or functioning locks, leads to an injury or crime, the property owner may be liable. 
4. Swimming Pool Accidents: These include drownings or injuries due to unsafe pool conditions or lack of supervision.

What Makes a Premises Liability Claim a Good Case?

To succeed in a premises liability claim in Florida, several elements must be proven:

• Duty of Care: The property owner owed a duty to maintain a safe environment.

• Breach of Duty: The owner failed to meet this duty by allowing dangerous conditions to exist.

• Causation: The breach of duty directly caused the injury.

• Damages: The injured party suffered actual harm or losses.

The above are what's called the legal "elements" of a case.  All of the above must exist in order for there to be a valid claim and the types of evidence needed to prove these elements can be evaluated by a skilled injury attorney.  Many personal injury attorneys look for the following things when evaluating a premises liability case when deciding on the likelihood a case will have success in proving these elements:

• Photographic evidence:  When you are seriously injured, it is seldom your first thought to pull out your phone and start taking photographs or videos of the condition that caused your injury.  However, if you are physically able to do so, it is highly recommended that you do exactly that.  Defendants have been known to clean up a dangerous condition after a fall is reported and then take a photograph of the cleaned area to dispute that your injury was caused by their negligence.  For this reason it is critical that you hire a personal injury attorney immediately after you are injured so that your attorney can place the potential defendants on notice of the claim and demand that evidence be preserved.  Many businesses now have surveillance camera equipment that will overwrite the video footage that shows what happened, unless they are sent a specific letter by an injury attorney called a "preservation letter."
• Incident was Reported: While it is not a legal requirement that you report your injury to the owner of the property where you were injured, G. Reynolds Legal recommends that you do so.  Reporting an incident immediately makes it much more likely that witnesses will be recorded, evidence will be retained, and lets the Defendant know that your claim is legitimate, as they will often treat claims skeptically when they don't learn of them until several months after-the-fact.  
• Medical Treatment:  If you are injured, you should be seeking medical attention as soon as possible.  Aside from the obvious reasons such as the need to get healthy and make sure you are not making an injury worse, it is helpful for your claim if you've seen a doctor and had your injury documented.  While many injury victims ultimately need to be seen in an emergency room setting due to the severity of their injuries, this is not a requirement.  If you are injured, but not necessarily in need of truly emergent medical attention, you will likely still have a case so long as you seek medical attention as soon as you can.
• Hidden Conditions:  The strongest premises liability cases involve dangerous situations that are difficult for the injured person to anticipate or detect.  If you are injured because you tripped and fell on something that was obvious and easily detected but you didn't see it because you were busy looking at your phone, you may be found liable even if you are injured on someone else's property.  Remember, a premises liability claim does not exist unless the landowner did something negligent.  Some examples of hidden conditions that are dangerous and indicative of negligence include, but are not necessarily limited to: liquid on the floor and difficult to see tripping hazards, especially in dimly lit areas.

When Does a Landowner Have a Duty to an Injured Person?

Most premises liability cases involve a situation where an injured person is a visitor on another's property.  Florida law categorizes visitors into three main groups, each with different levels of protection:

• Invitees: These are people invited onto the property for business purposes, like customers in a store. Property owners owe them the highest duty of care.

• Licensees: These are social guests or others who enter the property for non-business reasons. Owners must warn them of any known dangers that are not obvious and must still keep the property in a reasonably safe condition.

• Trespassers: Individuals who enter the property without permission. Owners have a limited duty to them.

I Have a Valid Premises Liability Case.  What Do I Need to Do Now?

If you've hired an injury attorney, they will generally open up a claim with a claims management company that handles claims for the potential defendant, or directly with their insurer.  It is important to get all of the appropriate decision makers involved early so they can investigate the claim and consider settlement.  Your attorney will also gather documentation of your medical expenses and records, and as noted above, make sure the appropriate demands for preservation of evidence are made.  When you have received the appropriate amount of medical attention, in most cases your attorney will attempt to resolve the claim informally with the Defendant on your behalf.  However, in many premises liability cases, there will be a need for a lawsuit to be filed and for the claim to go through the court process, sometimes called "litigation" before settlement.  Most premises liability claims do ultimately settle without the need for a trial, but it is common for a lawsuit to be filed for this type of case.  Feel free to reference our article on the litigation process for a more in depth look at this topic.

Conclusion

Understanding premises liability claims in Florida is essential for protecting your rights if you've been injured on someone else's property. If you find yourself in such a situation, remember to document the incident, seek medical attention, and consider consulting with a personal injury lawyer to guide you through the process.  At G. Reynolds Legal, our consultations are always free.  Contact our office to discuss your case and find out if you may be entitled to compensation.