Shreveport Premises Liability Attorney
What is a Premises Liability Claim?
When someone is injured on someone else's property, they can often recover compensation for their injuries from the property owner or the possessor of the property where such injuries occurred. This process will be done through the filing of a premises liability claim. In the United States, common premises liability cases can involve situations where the land owner failed to maintain the premise in such a manner as to avoid injury to the public.
Other situations that can lead to injury on another's property includes:
- Presence of defective conditions that a store owner or manager failed to warn about
- Inadequate security (especially in areas with a history of crime)
When is liability imposed?
Whether or not the property owner or possessor owed a duty of care upon the injured individual will depend on the nature of the relationship between the property owner or possessor and the injured person. The injured person can be considered an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser.
Under premises liability law, when someone is injured on the property of another, the court will impose liability on the owner or the possessor of the property in the following cases:
- Property owner or possessor owed the injured person a duty of care
- Property owner or possessor breached their duty of care
Licensees, Invitees, & Trespassers
In general, property owners and possessors owe the highest duty of care to invitees. Possessors are expected to regularly inspect their properties and to correct any unsafe conditions promptly or to warn invitees about such hazardous conditions.
An invitee is anyone who was invited on the premises to do any of the following:
- Conduct business (such as a shopper at a supermarket)
- Customer at a restaurant
- Patient at a doctor's office
Licensees are individuals who are visiting a property for non-commercial and non-business purposes and at the consent of the possessor of the property. For example, a social guest at someone's home would be considered a licensee.
Common scenarios where licensees are injured can involve:
- Backyard pool drownings
- Dog bites
- Dog attacks
The lowest duty of care is owed to those who trespass on someone's premises, with the only exception involving young children who lack the knowledge or understanding that they cannot trespass on others' land. If a burglar, therefore, is attacked by the family dog while breaking into a house, he probably doesn't have a case.
To learn more about premises liability claims, contact a Shreveport personal injury attorney from Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers today!