Tampa Premises Liability Attorney
If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property, you may wonder what legal actions are available to you. You may wonder whether the property owner can be held liable or whether you can seek compensation for your injury. This area of law is called premises liability and refers to a property owner’s legal responsibility to keep their premises safe and secure for visitors.
In general, Florida law requires property owners to fix dangerous conditions on their property or to at least provide adequate warning of dangerous conditions to visitors. When a property owner neglects this duty and a visitor to their property becomes injured, the visitor may then seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or wrongful death.
Common premises liability cases include slip-and-fall accidents, accidents occurring in theme parks or swimming pools, injuries caused by faulty sidewalks, stairs, elevators or escalators, and injuries caused by third parties due to negligent security.
Negligent Security
Negligent security refers to a property owner’s duty to protect visitors on their premises from attacks by third parties. They must implement security measures such as providing adequate lighting in parking lots or employing adequate security staff at establishments such as bars and casinos. When a property owner neglects to protect visitors from foreseeable dangers by a third party and the visitor suffers assault, rape or death, the property owner may be held liable.
Level of Care Owed to Visitors
The property owner’s relationship to the visitor will determine the level of care owed.
- Invitees are owed the highest level of care. This includes guests who are invited to a property for business reasons, such as shoppers in a store. For invitees, property owners are required to inspect for potential hazards and may therefore be held liable for hazards they knew about or should have known about.
- Licensees include guests visiting for non-business reasons, such as friends, family or other social guests. For theses guests, property owners are liable for hazardous conditions they knew about, but not for hazards they should have known about.
- Trespassers are owed the least amount of care. However, property owners may not intentionally create hazards to protect their property from trespassers.
Contact a Tampa Premises Liability Attorney
If you or a loved one has suffered any type of injury on someone else’s property, contact Echeverri Law Firm, P.A. now to discuss your case. Our experienced premises liability team can review your case and determine the best course of action to help you get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Book your free consultation online today.