How to Prove Premises Liability Claims
A premises liability claim can arise when a person suffers injuries on someone else’s property. For the property owner or manager to be liable, he or she must typically have acted unreasonably under the circumstances. In other words, the property owner must have known about the defect but failed to warn about it or remedy it in a timely manner. As a result, the accident victim must have suffered one or more injuries or other damages.
Proving that a property owner is at fault for a premises accident can be difficult. In some instances, the accident victim’s lawyer will need to retain an expert to prove that the property owner knew about the defect and or failed to remedy it in a reasonable period. If you have suffered injuries on someone else’s premises, it is important that you speak with a Tustin premises liability attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can help you prove the legal elements of your claim and work to get you the compensation that you deserve for your injuries.
Types of Premises Accidents
Accidents on someone else’s premises can occur both indoors and outdoors. One of the most common types of premises accidents is a slip and fall. For example, a patron in a grocery store or restaurant might slip and fall on food or liquid that spills onto the floor.
However, slip and fall accidents are not the only types of accident that can occur on someone else’s property. Other premises liability claims can stem from drownings in a pool located on the premises, defective staircases or railings, ride malfunctions at an amusement park, or even from negligent security on the premises. In the latter case, the premises owner might not have had enough security guards on board during an event, resulting in a fight or other disturbance.
Victims of premises accidents can suffer extremely serious injuries that require medical treatment, hospitalization, and physical therapy. The injuries that a person sustains will depend upon exactly what happened. If the accident victim strikes the floor, he or she could suffer a broken bone or a back/spinal cord injury. Other victims of premises accidents sustain soft tissue injuries, such as muscle sprains and strains. Still other accident victims experience cuts, abrasions, and internal injuries.
If you have suffered any of these injuries in a premises accident, your first step should be to get the medical treatment that you need. A healthcare provider at an emergency room or urgent care center could examine your condition, take the necessary imaging studies, and recommend future follow-up medical treatment to you.
Elements of Proof in a Premises Liability Case
As a victim of a premises accident, you have the legal burden of proof. First, you must be able to demonstrate that the property owner or manager owed you a duty of care. If you were a business invitee to the premises, such as a customer at a store or a patron at a restaurant, the property owner would have owed you the highest possible duty of care. This duty involves warning about or repairing known dangerous conditions on the premises and inspecting the premises on a regular basis for unknown dangerous conditions. In addition, you must have suffered one more injury because of the property owner’s breach.
Proving Fault Following a Premises Accident
Proving that a property owner knew about a defect on the premises can sometimes be a difficult task. Your lawyer might need to introduce the testimony of witnesses who could state that the defect existed on the property for a long period of time. In addition, your attorney might need to retain an expert accident reconstructionist who can piece together how the incident likely occurred. Finally, your lawyer could introduce photographs of the incident seen both before and after it happened, to show that the defect existed before the accident.
A knowledgeable California premises liability attorney can assist you with proving the legal elements of your claim and work to get you the compensation that you need.