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If you’ve been injured due to the fault of a property owner or possessor, Florida law may entitle you to compensation under premises liability law.
Premises liability arises when the defendant fails to exercise care in maintaining the property at issue in a reasonably safe condition for premises entrants, thus causing injury. If the defendant’s negligence leads to the existence of a dangerous condition of property, then it could lead to significant damages.
Premises liability may be confusing for first-time plaintiffs who are unfamiliar with the defenses and arguments that are likely to be used to counter their claims. Contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. to speak to an experienced Fort Myers personal injury lawyer about your premises liability claims.
We Represent Clients in a Range of Premises Liability Scenarios
We represent the interests of injured clients in a wide range of premises liability accident scenarios, including (but not limited to) the following:
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Trip and Fall Accidents
- Inadequate Security
- Industrial Hazards
The scenarios giving rise to liability can be quite diverse in scope.
For example, a straightforward slip-and-fall dispute may arise out of a situation in which the plaintiff slipped on a patch of oil that was left sitting in a retail store outlet. By contrast, an inadequate security dispute may arise out of a situation in which the plaintiff was assaulted by a third-party in the parking outside of a store. Each of these hypothetical cases involves a dangerous condition of property (a “hazard”).
Premises Liability Can Be Complicated
Premises liability disputes may seem simple upon first impression, but there can be complications over the course of litigation due to a number of different issues. Consider the following.
Obviousness
In Florida, the property owner may try to assert that the condition was obvious as a defense to a slip-and-fall liability claim. However, a proper investigation often proves that the dangerous condition was obvious to the property owner who simply ignored the condition day after day leading up to the accident. Whether the hazard is obvious is a circumstantial determination that requires an experienced liability attorney to dismantle over the course of litigation.
Known and Unknown Hazards
Defendants cannot be held liable for the presence of hazards that are unknown to them and that cannot have been reasonably known. Of course, if the hazard could have been reasonably discovered, then even a lack of knowledge will not shield them from liability.
For example, suppose that you are injured in a slip-and-fall accident at a grocery store. One of the aisles had a standing pool of liquid that was not visually obvious, and that led to your injuries. The grocery store owner argues that they and their employees did not know about the hazard, and as such, cannot be held liable. You could counter by asserting that the grocery store owner could have reasonably discovered the hazard had they performed more regular inspections.
Industry-Dependent Standards
Inspections and premises maintenance are subject to industry standards to some degree. As such, what might be deemed “negligence” in one context is not necessary negligence in another context.
For example, a grocery store might be expected to perform floor inspections every hour to ensure that there are no slipping or tripping hazards. Failure to establish a floor inspection protocol that meets that standard could lead to liability in the event that a customer slips and falls due to the presence of a hazard. By contrast, a standard retail store outlet (with no food/beverage items) might only be expected to perform regular floor inspections every two or three hours.
Liability for Third-Party Acts
In premises liability disputes, the property owner or possessor can be held responsible for injuries caused by third-parties in certain circumstances. Specifically, the property owner or possessor may be liable if the injured plaintiff can show that the property owner or possessor did not do enough to protect or warn them despite the fact that the incident at-issue was reasonably foreseeable.
This can all be a bit confusing without some further context, so let’s use a quick example for clarity.
Suppose that you are injured in a mugging that takes place just outside the doors of the defendant’s convenience store. Over the past few years, there have been a number of muggings just outside the store, typically involving customers. Given the circumstances, the defendant might be liable for failing to provide adequate security (i.e., hiring a security guard to stand watch outside the store), as it’s fair to say that the prospect of another customer being mugged outside the store was reasonably foreseeable.
Contact Spivey Law Firm for a Free Consultation
Here at Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., Randall Spivey provides comprehensive legal assistance to those who have been injured in various premises liability scenarios, from slip-and-fall accidents to attacks resulting from inadequate security. Our personal injury lawyers devote substantial time, attention, and resources to each of our clients. This gives us an opportunity to develop a truly personalized case strategy that is more likely to lead to a recovery.
Since our founding, we have had significant success handling premises liability claims (and other personal injury claims), as evidenced by our Settlements and Verdicts page. We believe that much of our success is driven by our aggressive attitude towards litigation. In the modern legal market, there are many personal injury firms that have minimal (if any) experience taking a case to trial. By contrast, we are ready and willing to try a case when the circumstances call for it. This willingness gives us negotiating leverage during settlement discussions with opposing counsel.
If you’re interested in discussing your case with a skilled Fort Myers personal injury lawyer at Spivey Law, call 239-337-7483 or send us a message online to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.
We encourage you to get in touch to learn more about how we can help. We work on contingency, so you pay no fees or costs unless you win a monetary settlement or verdict in your favor.
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