South Florida Premises Liability Attorneys
Property owners are responsible for ensuring that their property is safe for the public. For instance, property owners cannot leave ice that has built up on a sidewalk, keep leaky equipment in use as water puddles on the floor, or fail to repair broken pavements. When someone is injured because a commercial or private property owner has not fulfilled this important responsibility, the attorneys of Robinson and Casey are here to help.
Many people are injured each year while they are visiting the property of others. Each state has its own laws and regulations which determine a property owner’s liability. Florida, like most states, requires businesses and private property owners to maintain their properties in relatively hazard-free and safe conditions, and to warn individuals who may be on the property of any potentially harmful conditions. When they fail to do so, they may be liable under a legal theory called premises liability. Premises liability lawsuits are pursued in cases in which an injury is directly or proximately caused by a defective or unsafe condition on the property of someone else.
Robinson and Casey has represented individuals who have suffered severe injuries from an owner’s failure to keep his or her property safe.
These accidents can be caused by slippery floors, spills, dark stairwells, broken handrails or steps on staircases, unsecured carpets or rugs, hidden extension cords, or broken or loose floors or sidewalks. Depending upon the nature and severity of the case, we may call upon experts to illustrate how a property owner failed to keep their property safe. If you or a loved one has been injured because of the unsafe condition of a property, you should contact Robinson and Casey promptly so evidence can be preserved and witnesses located.
Like most other personal injury lawsuits, premises liability cases are based on negligence – that the owner did something wrong. To be successful in this type of lawsuit, the injured victim must prove that the property owner was negligent in the maintenance and ownership of the property. This means that the property owner violated the duty to exercise reasonable care of the property.
A property owner is not negligent just because an unsafe condition existed on the property that caused an injury. Rather, an individual must be able to prove that the property owner knew about the hazardous condition or reasonably should have known about it and failed to take steps to correct it or to warn of its existence. At Robinson and Casey, we can evaluate your incident and provide you with an honest assessment of your premises liability case.
What Is The Duty Of Care Of The Property Owner?
Florida law defines the duty that property owners owe to individuals on their premises by the status of the visitor. There are three different types of visitors recognized under Florida law: (1) trespassers; (2) licensees; and (3) invitees.
Trespassers
Trespassers are persons entering the property of another without an invitation, permission of the owner, or a legal privilege to use the land. Because their presence on the property of another is unlawful, trespassers are owed the most minimal duty of care. In general, property owners do not owe trespassers a duty of care. Nonetheless, property owners cannot intentionally set traps to injure trespassers. Children who trespass are owed a higher duty of care even though they are unlawfully on a property. Thus, property owners must take steps to prevent children from being injured by conditions on their properties that could attract children. A common example is placing fencing around a swimming pool.
Invitees
Licensees are visitors who enter a property with the permission of the landowner. These are individuals who visit a property for their own benefit (as opposed to the benefit of the landowner). Generally, guests of a property owner are considered licensees as are people who come to a property for their own business purposes, such as salespeople, utility workers, and others. Property owners owe licensees a duty of care to warn about dangerous conditions that they know about or should reasonably know about. This includes conditions that are not reasonably likely to be discovered by visitors.
Licensees
The highest duty of care for property owners is owed to invitees. Invitees are people who are invited onto the premises by the property owner for the owner’s benefit. Some examples of invitees include customers and individuals who visit a property for a reason related to the business, such as delivery personnel. The business’s owner or operator must maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for invitee
