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Premises liability is a legal term used in personal injury cases when the incident was caused by an unsafe or defective condition on someone’s property. These types of cases generally involve slip and fall accidents caused by the property owner’s failure to maintain their property properly. After you suffer an injury on another party’s property, you should contact the diligent attorneys at Kogan & DiSalvo to review your situation and determine if your case has the proper Boca Raton premises liability claim requirements.
Information Needed to Validate a Claim
During an initial consultation, Kogan & DiSalvo attorneys may ask an injured party to describe the hazardous condition that caused their injuries. Their lawyers must know when the claimant saw the hazard and how often they have been to that premises.
Attorneys also may want to know other factors that could have led to the claimant’s accident, such as what they were wearing and what the weather was like at the time of the accident. In slip and fall cases, a legal professional may need to know if the owner noticed or should have noticed the hazard that made the claimant slip. All relevant information such as the circumstances, use of property, foreseeability of the property, and reasonable behavior of the owner could help lawyers determine if a case meets the property liability claim requirements in Boca Raton.
There may be a high threshold for plaintiffs to overcome when trying to prove their premises liability claim. Florida Statutes Section 768.0755 establishes that if someone slips on a temporary foreign substance in a business establishment, the injured party must prove that the property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to remedy it. Constructive knowledge may be proven by circumstantial evidence showing that the hazardous condition existed for such a length of time that the business owner should have known of the condition or if it was foreseeable.
How the Classification of Injured Party Can Affect a Premises Liability Case
State law categorizes visitors to a property into certain groups, and the group an injured party belongs to can impact the outcome of their case because property owners have different duties of care to each group. An invitee is a person who is on a property for a commercial purpose, such as a shopper in a retail store or a customer in a restaurant.
Commercial property owners owe a higher level of care to these visitors. These property owners must:
- Inspect their premises
- Warn of any dangerous conditions
- Take security measures to prevent accidents.
A property owner cannot delegate their duty of care to any other third party.
The duty of care a property owner has to invited friends is lower. A person on a property for a non-business purpose is known as a licensee. A proprietor under this circumstance has a similar duty of care, but the threshold is not as high. For example, they must warn about known dangerous conditions but do not have a duty to inspect the premises. The requirements for a Boca Raton premises liability case vary depending on the classification of the injured plaintiff.
Wrongful Death and Property Liability Cases
Wrongful death can factor in the role of attorneys may play in a case because they can work to ensure that the injured party receives fair compensation for their injuries caused by a negligent party. If the case involves wrongful death, Florida Statutes dictates which survivors may obtain compensation.
Florida Statutes Section 768.19 states that when a person dies because of the wrongful actions or inactions of another person, the estate of the deceased may bring a civil lawsuit, seeking a legal remedy for that death and the losses stemming from it. There are specific rules regarding who can bring this lawsuit, the time frame for this lawsuit and the types of damages the plaintiff may obtain. Legal professionals can help claimants properly navigate this statute.
Arguments Against a Premises Liability Claim
Defense attorneys in premises liability claims may try to argue comparative negligence. This means that they create an argument that establishes that the plaintiff failed to use due care while on the property and was therefore at fault. They may also argue that the owner did not notice or could not have noticed the dangerous condition. Additionally, defendants may argue that the accident in question did not cause the alleged damages.
Contact an Attorney to Learn About Premises Liability Claim Requirements in Boca Raton
Going through a property liability lawsuit can be overwhelming. Fortunately, the lawyers at Kogan & DiSalvo can help you work through your case to ensure that it meets all the Boca Raton premises liability claim requirements. Call today to schedule your free case consultation.
