I wanted to thank all of you so much for being such wonderful people to my son and also to my family. You can't imagine how much your generosity meant to us. 
-
J. Landeros
Mother of a Child Who Sustained a Brain Injury
Dallas Premises Liability Lawyer
Injury Lawyer Michael Grossman Discusses What to Do If You Were Injured on Someone Else’s Property
If you or a loved one suffered an injury while on someone else’s property, either residential or commercial, then you may have right to file a personal injury claim against the property owner under a branch of law known as premises liability.
Just as all people owe different responsibilities to provide for the safety of others, property owners are required by law to provide different standards of safety to different kinds of visitors to their property. If someone sustains an injury due to the property owner’s negligence, then that person may be eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit under premises liability. For instance, injuries from slipping falling, being struck by fallen objects, or hurt by malfunctioning equipment may all be grounds for a premises liability lawsuit.
Not all injuries suffered on someone else’s property provide grounds for a premises liability lawsuit. In order to be actionable, the injury must have resulted from the property owner’s failure to provide the legal duty of safety to someone visiting the property. For instance, if a person is assaulted in a convenience store parking lot due to a lack of adequate lighting, then the store could be held accountable under premises liability.
Types of Visitors
The legal duty owed by a property owner to visitors changes due to the type of visitor, and there are three distinct types:
- Invitee – someone who knowingly and willingly visits a property for the mutual benefit of the owner and the visitor. An example of an invitee would be a shopper in a store. He or she benefits by purchasing something, and the owner benefits by selling something.
- Licensee – Someone who knowingly and willfully visits a property for his or her own sole benefit. The law considers someone stopping by to visit a friend to be an example of a licensee.
- Trespasser – Someone who enters a property knowingly and willfully without the permission of the property owner or a legal right for doing so, for example: a burglar.
Legal Duties to Various Visitors
Property owners owe different duties of safety to different types of visitors. Invitees are owed the following responsibilities:
- The duty to seek dangerous conditions and warn visitors. For example, a liquor store warning patrons about a wet and slippery floor.
- The duty to warn of existing dangers. For example, if you go over to a friend’s house, and their a staircase has uneven steps, then they are required to warn you.
- The duty of knowingly and willingly injuring visitors. For instance, if a property owner booby traps his or her property to punish trespassers, and the trap injures another visitor.
Licensees are owed the duties of warning of pre-existing dangerous conditions, and not being willfully injured by the property owner, while trespassers are only owed the duty of being protected from wanton dangers set up by the property owner. If a trespasser or licensee slips and falls on a newly waxed floor, then that’s their problem.
Common Examples of Cases
There are several types of cases that commonly become litigated as premises liability cases:
- Slip and fall accidents: hazardous conditions on a property cause someone to trip or slip and fall.
- Elevator collapse accidents: a defect in design or maintenance leads to an elevator collapse.
- Injuries as a result of criminal activity: when criminal activity on the property of an owner leads to the death or injury of another person.
- Injuries due to Falling Down Stairs: when known hazards on a staircase causes a visitor to slip and fall, injuring him or herself.
- Dangerous animal attacks: when animals attack and injury a visitor to a property.
In order to win a premises liability lawsuit, the victim must be able to prove that a hazard existed, that the property owner knew about the risk or should have known, and the hazard resulted in injuries. Moreover, the victim, or plaintiff must be able to prove the equity of the requested compensation. Fulfilling these requirements can be complex, and in order to succeed with a premises liability claim, you will likely need the assistance of an experienced attorney.
At Grossman Law Offices, our Dallas premises liability attorneys have been litigating premises liability cases for 20 years, and we’ve helped injured Texans recover millions and millions of dollars in damages. If you or someone you love has been injured on someone else’s property, then call us today for a free consultation at 1-855-326-0000 (toll free). We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the specifics in your case and help you determine whether you have the right to file suit. Let us help you like we’ve helped hundreds of other injured Texans.
Recovery for the victim of a slip and fall premises liability accident.
$50,000.00
$20,000.00
$485.00
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
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.
Confidential
Confidential
Confidential
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 client who needed surgery on her foot due to a slip and fall accident.
$40,000.00
$16,000.00
$1,168.00