My wife Debra and I were treated in an expedient and personal manner. Mr. Grossman and his staff took care of everything and kept me aware of the status of my case every step of the way.
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P. Hogan
Automobile Accident Case
Dallas Premises Liability Lawyer
If You've Been Injured on Someone's Property, You May Be Entitled To Recover Damages
In the State of Texas legal statutes stipulate that property owners are obligated to make a reasonable effort to ensure the safety of visitors to their property. The area of personal injury law devoted to this notion is known as premises liability.
Let one of our dallas premises liability attorneys here at the Dallas Grossman Law Offices represent you and assist you taking the next step to what is rightfully yours.
Not all injuries that a victim suffers while visiting a property will qualify for compensation. Different legal duties are owed to visitors in different situations and the primary factor in determining what type of legal duty the property owner owes is based on the type of visitor.
The three distinct types of visitors are:
- Invitee (someone that knowingly or willfully enters the property of the mutual benefit of the visitor and the property owner)
- Licensee (someone who knowingly or willfully enters the property for the benefit of the visitor)
- Trespasser (someone who knowingly or willfully enters the property without permission or legal right)
An Invitee is someone that knowingly or willfully enters the property for the mutual benefit of the visitor and the property owner. An example would be a shopper visiting a grocery store. They enter the property to make a transaction that is beneficial to both parties.
A licensee is someone who knowingly or willfully enters the property for the benefit of the visitor. For example, one friend visiting another friend's home.
A trespasser is someone who knowingly or willfully enters the property without permission or legal right. For example, a burglar.
There are numerous legal duties that a property owner owes to a visitor such as:
- The duty to seek out and warn of a dangerous condition
- The duty to warn of dangers that the property owner has prior knowledge of
- The duty to refrain from injuring visitors willfully, wantonly, of through gross negligence
The duty to seek out and warn of a dangerous condition is a duty that is owed to an invitee only. An example would be the way that a grocery store is required to discover and warn you of a slippery floor. It is not enough for them to wait until someone slips. They have an obligation to seek out the dangerous condition.
The duty to warn others of dangers that the property owner has prior knowledge of is owed to both invitees and to licensees. For example, if you are invited over to a friends house and they have dug a giant hole in their backyard they are obligated to warn you about the dangerous condition before you enter the backyard.
The duty to refrain from injuring visitors willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence is a duty that is owed to all visitors, even trespassers. For example if someone booby traps their house and a trespasser is injured the property owner is liable for those injuries.
Common example of premises liability cases are:
- Slip and fall accidents (an individual slips and falls or trips and falls due to hazardous condition on someone else's property and is injured as a result of the fall)
- Elevator collapse accidents (accident due to a defect in design, construction, or manufacturing of an elevator or its components)
- Injuries due to falling down stairs (someone slips or trips and falls down stairs because a property owner failed to take care of a known hazardous condition)
- Injuries or death resulting from criminal activity on a property (an individual is injured or severely harmed to the point of death or wrongful death due to a criminal activity on a property other then their own)
- Attacks by dangerous animals (an individual is attacked by a dangerous animal while on an property other then their own)
As a general rule of thumb, if you have been injured on someone's property you may have a legal right to pursue compensation for any damages you have suffered. Our experienced dallas premises liability lawyers will listen to your story to help you determine if you have a case.
Facility sued for negligent contribution to the death of an innocent bystander. A fatal shooting occurred on the property after the facility failed to appropriately respond to outbursts of violence & gang activity. Following the young man's death, his parents hired our firm to pursue the facility for their negligent actions including failure to provide adequate security. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
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Our attorneys sued an apartment complex in relation to a brain injury sustained by a toddler when he fell through a balcony railing. The apartment complex denied liability, asserted that their railings were in spec at the time of the building's construction (some 20 years prior), and they claimed that the child's mother was contributorily negligent in that she did not notice that her child was playing near the railing.
Through litigation, our attorneys countered the defendant's arguments by showing that the case law does not support the notion of any safety related concerns in the building code being "grandfathered" in. On the contrary, a property owner has an obligation to keep safety features such as balcony railings within the specs at all times. The railings in this complex were spaced at 7 inch intervals, which was at odds with the now-standard 4 inch interval.
Additionally, our attorneys countered the claims of contributory negligence as a practical matter in that the mother was indeed monitoring the child's activity and the child literally ran up to the railing and immediately fell through the rails. Alternatively, we argued that the doctrine of parental immunity applied and that the contributory negligence, if any such negligence ever even occurred, of the mother would not be admissible. The case was satisfactorily resolved through litigation.
$350,000.00
$115,500.00
$5,000.00
Recovery for client who sustained contusions and a sprained ankle in a premises liability accident.
$100,000.00
$37,272.00
$1,730.00
Recovery for client who needed surgery on her foot due to a slip and fall accident.
$40,000.00
$16,000.00
$1,168.00
Recovery for client who suffered contusions and a soft tissue knee injury in a slip and fall.
$50,500.00
$19,102.00
$265.00
Recovery for the victim of a slip and fall premises liability accident.
$50,000.00
$20,000.00
$485.00