Premises Liability is an area of the law that gives the responsibility of an accident on their property to landowners and tenants. When they negligently allow a dangerous condition to exist on their property, it makes the owner or the person currently occupying the property liable. According to HG.org, there are cases based on factors other than negligence but it may have differences in the application of the law for different types of personal injury cases.

Slips and falls are the most common type of accidents that take place on other people’s property. When customers go into a store where water has been tracked inside and left to present a danger, they may be considered at fault due to negligence when a customer falls. Faulty stairs, unmarked obstacles, and loose mats are also causes of falls.

Other Causes of Premises Liability

Personal injury can also be applied to situations where people are bitten by a neighbor’s dog, a child wanders into an open swimming pool, or any situation presents dangerous conditions that result in another person’s injury. Many courts made the decision on whether a case of premises liability is valid according to three criteria relative to the reason the plaintiff came onto the property:

Without permission, defining them as trespassers
Social guests defined as Licensees or bare licensees
To further the purposes of the tenant or landowner defined as invitees

Each of these groups is given a different degree of protection according to the law. Normally, anyone considered a trespasser is not protected and, therefore, cannot file a personal injury claim if they are injured on the property. This changes if the landowner becomes aware of the trespasser’s presence and fails to alert them to hidden dangers, or engages in conduct that would injure or entrap.

View image | gettyimages.com

Changes to Law

In spite of a dangerous condition being made known to someone on a landowner’s property, the owner is not automatically free of the duty to care for someone who has gotten injured there because of the dangerous condition.

Situations such as this that cause changes in the law make it important to find a personal injury lawyer to determine your rights whether the accident occurs on your property or with you as the victim. Laws vary from state-to-state, each with specifications that have an important impact on your premises liability case. One example is the statute of limitations the state has on personal injury cases. This means if you are injured on someone else’s property, you must file your claim within a certain time frame of the date of injury or give up your rights to compensation entirely.

Maryland has an extremely harsh rule called “contributory negligence” which basically means that if the injured person is considered at fault even slightly, that person can not collect money from any other at-fault party. What does that mean for your case? Even if the court says the owner is 90% at fault and you’re 10% at fault, you may not receive payment at all from the owner. It is vital that you prove your case 100%.

That’s why it’s so very very essential that you speak with an attorney. Only somebody with experience can help you navigate the complicated world of injury law. Call our offices today if you’ve been hurt.