What Is Premises Liability?
August 9, 2024
When you stumble on uneven stairs or slip on a wet restaurant floor, the result is often a costly injury. People frequently make the mistake of chalking up events like these to personal carelessness or clumsiness. However, these types of accidents are usually caused by someone’s failure to safely maintain the property. In situations like these, a premises liability lawyer may be able to help you obtain compensation for the resulting injuries.
Identifying a Premises Liability Claim
At the broadest level, premises liability refers to the fact that the owners of businesses and properties have a legal obligation to maintain a property in a safe state. This can refer to structural concerns, like having a study handrail in place on a stairway. It can also refer to temporary circumstances, like a floor that’s still wet from a recent mopping.
Premises lawsuits resulting from these circumstances are so common that people refer to the legal professionals who handle them as “slip-and-fall lawyers.”
Slip-and-fall accidents are a leading type of premises liability claim, but these accidents can take many forms. When you’re injured in an accident in a public place or someone’s home or apartment, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries through an insurance claim. Some of the most common forms of claims related to unsafe properties include:
- Wet or slippery floor accidents
- Snow or ice accidents
- Poor maintenance accidents
- Insufficient safety accidents
- Negligent security accidents
- Elevator accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
- Fallen trees
- Dog bites.
Premises liability covers many types of events. Assault, dog bites, and slip-and-fall accidents are just a few of the many injuries for which you can recover compensation through a claim.
Do you think your injuries are the result of a property owner’s negligence? Call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 to discuss your compensation options during a free consultation.
Is Premises Liability the Same as Negligence?
In many ways, premises liability and negligence are intertwined. Premises liability generally refers to the body of law that outlines the expectations for reasonable safety on a property. It asserts that business and property owners have a duty to take measures to protect people who have a lawful reason to be on the grounds.
To successfully recover compensation in a premises liability claim, your lawyer first needs to prove that someone acted negligently by failing to keep the property safe. Exactly how they do this depends on the type of injury and why it occurred. One case might involve failing to make needed repairs, while another might revolve around negligent security practices.
If your lawyer can successfully prove negligence, the property owner can be deemed liable for your injuries. Then, you can file a premises liability claim through their insurance company and seek damages for the expenses related to your injuries.
What Is the Difference Between General Liability and Premises Liability?
Another item that sometimes confuses people outside the legal profession involves general and premises liability. Unlike the nuances involving negligence and premises issues, general liability is significantly different, even though it may encompass slip-and-fall lawsuits.
General liability tends to involve a broad spectrum of potential harm to another person’s property. Many businesses, as well as residential and commercial property owners, acquire general liability insurance coverage for protection in the event an unforeseen injury occurs, resulting in a lawsuit. These may include the following.
- Advertising lawsuit
- Customer injury lawsuit
- Product liability lawsuit
- Property damage lawsuit.
General liability can be thought of as non-specific. If someone suffers a loss due to a company’s or individual’s actions, they may seek compensation under general liability if the elements of the lawsuit can be demonstrated. The substantial difference between general and premises liability is that, in the latter, the business or property owner failed to meet a safety responsibility. In other words, a premises liability lawsuit typically must prove that the responsible person failed to keep the location free of hazards that could harm people visiting the property.
Talk to Our Pennsylvania Premises Liability Lawyers
Premises liability accidents often bring injuries that range from a broken hip to a traumatic brain injury. If you’ve been injured in an accident related to property safety, you shouldn’t have to bear the financial burden of your injuries. The premises liability attorneys at Wapner Newman are available to discuss your options for obtaining compensation to cover costs like medical bills and lost wages.
Wapner Newman has recovered hundreds of millions for injured clients across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Contact our firm today to learn how we can help.
Call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer.