Anyone who owns property has a legal responsibility to provide reasonable care for people legally on their property. Reasonable care means that the owners must maintain the premises to limit dangerous hazards or warn all guests of any unsafe conditions that may cause harm.
Both private and public property owners are putting people at risk when they fail to provide this care.
If you or someone you care about was harmed on someone else’s property because of the negligence of the owner, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you have suffered. Contact Tatum & Atkinson right away at (800) LAW-0804 for a free consultation to discuss your situation.
How Can a North Carolina Premises Liability Attorney Help Me?
A premises liability lawyer will first help you by determining whether you have grounds for legal action. If you do have a case against the property owner, your premises liability attorney will assist you in determining the amount of compensation you are entitled to receive.
You can trust the expertise of Tatum & Atkinson because they have decades of experience they will use to give you the best possible advice.
What Is Premises Liability?
Premises liability is a broad term used to describe the many types of legal claims that may arise from a hazardous condition on someone’s property. An example of this would be if someone knows that their front porch is rotten, and they do nothing to repair it or to block it off.
If they call a repair person to come to fix something inside the house and the worker falls through the porch while approaching the front door, the owner would be liable for compensating them for their injuries as well as any lost wages that may result. This is because the owner knew about the hazardous condition but did nothing to remove it or to warn the worker.
The worker in this example was legally on the property. The property owner had a legal duty to keep the premises reasonably safe for the visitor but failed to do so.
They should have repaired the damage or blocked off the area. Even a verbal warning for the worker would have been sufficient, but the owner did nothing and is therefore responsible for the worker’s damages as they occurred as the result of the owner’s negligence.
How Do I Know if I Have a Premises Liability Case?
The best way to know if your situation qualifies for compensation is to consult with a premises liability attorney. Your attorney will be able to answer all your questions and provide legal advice and guidance for you.
In order to be successful with your premises liability case, you must be able to prove the following factors:
- The owner of the property owed you a duty of care. In order to prove this, you must be able to prove that you were on the property legally.
- A hazardous condition existed
- The owner of the property must have known about the danger, or it should have been reasonably apparent to the owner that there was a dangerous condition.
- The owner did not provide reasonable care by fixing, warning, or providing a barrier around the hazardous condition.
- You were injured as a result of the unattended hazardous condition
- You suffered damages as a result of your injuries. Damages may include medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
What Constitutes a Dangerous Condition?
A dangerous condition can be nearly anything that has the potential to cause harm to a person. Some examples of common dangerous conditions include:
- Unsafe staircases
- Spilled merchandise
- Improper signage
- Inadequate maintenance
- Lack of sufficient handrails
- Accumulated snow, ice, or water
- Unsafe pools
How Does North Carolina’s Contributory Negligence Affect My Premises Liability Case?
North Carolina has a strict contributory negligence rule. According to Forbes, this rule states that the victim is not entitled to any compensation if they contributed to causing their own injury.
So, if the victim shares any responsibility for the accident that caused their injuries, the property owner does not have to pay any compensation. Therefore, your premises liability attorney will have to prove that the accident was solely caused by the negligence of the property owner.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability in North Carolina?
The statute of limitations is the amount of time someone is given to file a claim for compensation after being harmed on someone else’s property due to the owner’s negligence. North Carolina’s statute of limitations for filing a premises liability claim is three years from the date of the initial filing injury.
This amount of time allows the plaintiff to decide if they want to file a claim and build their case. It also protects the defendant from having the threat of a lawsuit being perpetually held over them; the statute benefits both sides and keeps the case fresh.
Who Can File a Premises Liability Lawsuit?
The victim named in the premises liability lawsuit must have been someone who was on the property legally and was harmed by the owner’s negligence. The premises liability attorney will take care of the legal process of filing the claim for compensation.
What Qualifies as the Owner’s Premises?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, someone’s premises are the land and buildings that they own. The owner is responsible for maintaining their property and keeping it in a safe condition for all people legally allowed within the boundaries.
However, the owner is also responsible for the access to the property. For example, a store owner is responsible for not only the store itself but also for the doorways and pathways from the parking lot to the store.
These pathways are considered an approach, which means any property that the person has to cross in order to enter the owner’s property, a sidewalk, for example.
What Do I Need for a Successful Premises Liability Claim?
The best way to be successful in your premises liability case is to hire a knowledgeable attorney to guide you through the complex legal process and to represent you during negotiations or court if the case continues that far.
What Must the Premises Liability Attorney Prove in a Lawsuit?
The premises liability lawyer will have to prove four things in order to be successful. Those four factors are:
- A standard duty of care existed. The responsibility for the property does not rest solely on the shoulders of the owner. There may also be managers, maintenance companies, or people leasing the property who may be held liable in these cases. Every situation is unique, and the premises liability lawyer will have to investigate who is responsible and what standard of care applies.
- There was a breach in the standard of care. The defendant’s carelessness was the direct cause of the dangerous conditions that resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries.
- The plaintiff suffered damages. The injury suffered by the plaintiff must be significant enough to have caused damages. For example, if someone trips over a box in a store, but the only injury is a small bruise, this person did not suffer sufficient damages to justify filing a premises liability lawsuit. However, if someone trips and breaks their leg, that person will need medical treatment and time to recover. This injury caused the plaintiff enough damages to justify filing for compensation.
- The plaintiff’s injury was caused because of the defendant’s negligence. The injury must be the direct result of the defendant’s actions or inactions. It may be obvious that the hazard caused the injury, but the premises liability lawyer will have to prove that the injury would not have happened had the owner been prudent in their responsibility. Also, an injury that occurred on someone else’s property that was not caused by a hazardous condition will not qualify for proof of carelessness.
What Are the Most Common Types of Premises Liability Injuries?
The most common reason for a premises liability lawsuit is a slip and fall accident. They are so common that they are separated into two categories.
The first category involves static defects, such as a broken sidewalk. The second category is for situations that involve a foreign substance, such as oil spilled onto the floor.
Property owners will try to place the blame for the accident onto the victim by arguing that a reasonable person would have seen the hazardous condition and avoided it. The premises liability attorney will argue that what may seem obvious to the owner, who is aware of the hazard and sees it every day, may not be obvious to other people who are unfamiliar with the area.
Some other examples of premises liability cases include:
- Animal bites
- Drownings and other swimming pool accidents
- Insufficient maintenance
- Defective conditions on the property, such as improperly secured handrails
- Inadequate security
- Poor lighting
Premises liability laws are complex and can easily confuse anyone without a strong understanding of the law and how it applies to each unique case. An experienced premises liability attorney is your greatest asset when it comes to achieving a satisfactory outcome for your case.
Tatum & Atkinson have a proven history of winning cases for their clients because of their extensive knowledge, hard work, and dedication to each and every client.
How Does Premises Liability Work for People Injured While Not Legally on the Property?
The reason for the person being on the property makes a difference in the outcome of the case. Anyone who entered the property without permission is considered trespassing.
Trespassers may have some protection under premises liability laws, but it depends heavily on the other circumstances involved in the situation. For example, if they did not know that they were on someone’s property or if the hazardous condition was so severe that they could not have avoided it.
The law does not expect property owners to keep trespassers safe while on their property uninvited. However, if the owner knows the trespasser is present, the owner is responsible for warning them about any known hazardous conditions.
People who were invited onto the property have the highest level of protection from the law. The owners must ensure that the premises are safe for any customers on their property.
Contact a North Carolina Premises Liability Law Firm Today – Tatum & Atkinson: The Heavy Hitters
If you or someone you know has been injured while on someone else’s property, and you have reason to believe that the owner’s negligence is responsible for your injuries, you may have grounds for a premises liability claim and be eligible for compensation. Call Tatum & Atkinson: The Heavy Hitters at (800) LAW-0804 today for a free consultation to discuss your situation.
We will answer your questions and give you high-quality and honest advice about your options. We are on your side and will provide all our services free of charge until you get your satisfactory payment.
