When people are injured in slip and fall accidents or otherwise come into contact with a condition on someone else’s property that causes them to suffer injuries, they will likely have actionable premises liability claims against the landowner or the person exercising control over the property. Premises liability claims are a type of personal injury claim that people may assert against a property owner or property manager if they are injured in some way by a dangerous condition on the property. To bring a successful premises liability claim you must prove certain elements.
Premises liability claims are considered a specific form of negligence claim under both Florida and New York law. This means that, in order to win a premises liability claim, the law requires you to prove all four elements of a negligence action:
The property owner or manager owed you a duty of care
The property owner or manager breached the duty of care owed to you
This breach caused you to suffer injuries
Actual damage resulted to you
All four of the above-listed elements must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence in order to prevail on a premises liability claim. Stated differently, all you must do to bring a successful premises liability claim is to present evidence that shows it is more likely than not that the property owner or manager owed you a duty of care, breached this duty, and you suffered physical or other economic injuries as a result of this breach.
However, where it gets nuanced is that a person’s classification on the property governs the duty the owner or manager must provide. For example, the duty of care owed to a person that enters the property is determined by the reason that person is on the property. People who enter into another’s property are generally classified as invitees, licensees, or trespassers for the purpose of determining the duty of care owed to them. Invitees are people who enter into another’s property for some legitimate business purpose. Usually, people are considered invitees when they are customers of a store or when they are clients of a business. Licensees are people who enter into another’s property, with the permission of the property owner or manager, for a social purpose. Licensees are typically house guests or social guests, who are on the premises to attend events like a birthday party or a barbecue. Trespassers, on the other hand, are those that enter onto another’s property without permission to do so.
Property owners and managers owe the highest duty of care to invitees. Specifically, property owners and managers owe invitees a duty of care to keep the premises safe, which entails regularly inspecting the property and either repairing or warning invitees of any dangerous conditions that they know or should have known to exist on the property.
Licensees are owed the second highest duty of care. Under Florida law, property owners and managers owe licensees a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe, fix unsafe conditions, and warn licensees of any known dangers on the property. This duty of care is lower than that owed to invitees because property owners only need to warn licensees of dangerous conditions they actually knew about whereas property owners must warn invitees of dangerous conditions they both actually knew about or should have known about.
Trespassers, because they do not have permission to be on the premises, are owed the lowest duty of care. According to Florida law, all property owners or managers must do is to exercise reasonable care so as to prevent reckless or intentional injury to trespassers when they are on the property.
Because property owners and managers owe different duties of care to individuals depending upon an individual’s classification as either an invitee, licensee, or trespasser, an individual must prove that he or she fits into one of these categories, and it is best to try to establish that you were either an invitee or licensee when your injuries occurred in order to establish a case. Of course, after your status is determined you must prove breach (failure to inspect, failure to repair, failure to warn, etc.), causation (those failures caused your injuries), and damages (monetary losses, physical injury, lost time from work, companionship, loss of services) in order to recover.
If you, or someone you know has been injured while on the property of another you may have a negligence case. Book a consultation to speak with me about the facts of your case and what I can do for you!
What is Premises Liability and Do I Have a Case?
When people are injured in slip and fall accidents or otherwise come into contact with a condition on someone else’s property that causes them to suffer injuries, they will likely have actionable premises liability claims against the landowner or the person exercising control over the property. Premises liability claims are a type of personal injury claim that people may assert against a property owner or property manager if they are injured in some way by a dangerous condition on the property. To bring a successful premises liability claim you must prove certain elements.
Premises liability claims are considered a specific form of negligence claim under both Florida and New York law. This means that, in order to win a premises liability claim, the law requires you to prove all four elements of a negligence action:
All four of the above-listed elements must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence in order to prevail on a premises liability claim. Stated differently, all you must do to bring a successful premises liability claim is to present evidence that shows it is more likely than not that the property owner or manager owed you a duty of care, breached this duty, and you suffered physical or other economic injuries as a result of this breach.
However, where it gets nuanced is that a person’s classification on the property governs the duty the owner or manager must provide. For example, the duty of care owed to a person that enters the property is determined by the reason that person is on the property. People who enter into another’s property are generally classified as invitees, licensees, or trespassers for the purpose of determining the duty of care owed to them. Invitees are people who enter into another’s property for some legitimate business purpose. Usually, people are considered invitees when they are customers of a store or when they are clients of a business. Licensees are people who enter into another’s property, with the permission of the property owner or manager, for a social purpose. Licensees are typically house guests or social guests, who are on the premises to attend events like a birthday party or a barbecue. Trespassers, on the other hand, are those that enter onto another’s property without permission to do so.
Property owners and managers owe the highest duty of care to invitees. Specifically, property owners and managers owe invitees a duty of care to keep the premises safe, which entails regularly inspecting the property and either repairing or warning invitees of any dangerous conditions that they know or should have known to exist on the property.
Licensees are owed the second highest duty of care. Under Florida law, property owners and managers owe licensees a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe, fix unsafe conditions, and warn licensees of any known dangers on the property. This duty of care is lower than that owed to invitees because property owners only need to warn licensees of dangerous conditions they actually knew about whereas property owners must warn invitees of dangerous conditions they both actually knew about or should have known about.
Trespassers, because they do not have permission to be on the premises, are owed the lowest duty of care. According to Florida law, all property owners or managers must do is to exercise reasonable care so as to prevent reckless or intentional injury to trespassers when they are on the property.
Because property owners and managers owe different duties of care to individuals depending upon an individual’s classification as either an invitee, licensee, or trespasser, an individual must prove that he or she fits into one of these categories, and it is best to try to establish that you were either an invitee or licensee when your injuries occurred in order to establish a case. Of course, after your status is determined you must prove breach (failure to inspect, failure to repair, failure to warn, etc.), causation (those failures caused your injuries), and damages (monetary losses, physical injury, lost time from work, companionship, loss of services) in order to recover.
If you, or someone you know has been injured while on the property of another you may have a negligence case. Book a consultation to speak with me about the facts of your case and what I can do for you!
Recent Posts
Categories