Premises Liability And Compensation For Injuries On Another’s Property

Most people visiting family and friends do not think of what would happen in the event of an injury on the host’s property. This is not often a normal concern until something happens and, depending on the nature of the injury, the injured person is faced with the possibility of high medical costs. Whether or not a person may be able to receive compensation for injuries sustained on another’s property depends in large part on why the person was on the property to begin with.

Invitees

If a person is considered an invitee, that is, present on a property for a business purpose (business invitee), a public purpose for which the property is open to the public (public invitee), or for social reasons (a licensee or social guest), then they are owed a common duty by the property owner. The property owner owes each of these groups of guests a duty to warn them of any known dangers present on the property.

In addition, the owner is responsible of warning an invitee of any dangers that the owner would discover if he or she used reasonable care. Therefore, if there is a hole in the ground in an area that a homeowner or property manager would have discovered with routine inspection, but that an invited visitor would be unable to plainly see, the homeowner or property manager would be responsible for warning the invitee. This duty exists whether or not the homeowner or property manager actually knows of the problem if they could have known through reasonable inspection. Although generally people are not responsible for the criminal acts of third parties, property owners do owe invitees a duty to exercise reasonable caution to protect them from the foreseeable criminal acts of others. This may include taking action like the installation of cameras, lights in common areas, or having security guards.

Licensees and Trespassers

In the case of other people who may come onto a person’s property for their own benefit and without invitation, such as salesmen, the property owner does not owe them the same duty as the invited personal or business guest. The property owner still has to warn them of any willful action the property owner has taken to keep them out, such as any booby traps set up. This duty to warn also applies to people who may trespass on the property. However, unlike with the invited guests, the property owner owes no duty to protect uninvited guests or trespassers from third party criminal acts. A tenant’s guest may in some cases be regarded as licensees to the landlord.

In some cases, a property owner may also be held liable for injuries to children on their property even if the children trespassed and were not harmed by a hidden danger. Under the attractive nuisance doctrine, a property owner can be found liable if the court finds that a child was injured by a danger whose risk the child could not appreciate, and the property owner could have taken care of, among other factors.

Contact A Clearwater Personal Injury Attorney

If you were injured on another person’s property or rental unit, contact an experienced personal injury attorney for a consultation. You may be able to recover for your injuries and expenses even if the person you were visiting is a tenant and does not own the property. Consult the experienced Clearwater personal injury attorneys at Roman & Roman, P.A.