Premises Liability: Your Rights When Injured on Someone Else’s Property
If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property, it can be a confusing and overwhelming experience. Understanding your rights is crucial, and knowing how premises liability works can help you navigate the process more effectively. In New Jersey, like many states, property owners are responsible for ensuring the safety of their premises for visitors. In this article, we will break down the concept of premises liability and share examples of common scenarios in which it applies.
What is Premises Liability?
Premises liability is a legal concept that holds property owners (or those in possession of the property, like tenants or lessees) responsible for injuries that occur on their property due to their negligence. Essentially, if a property is not maintained safely, and someone is injured as a result, the owner can be held liable. The type of negligence can range from failing to repair broken staircases to not clearing icy sidewalks, and much more.
In New Jersey, the specifics of premises liability are rooted in both statutes and case law. Here’s a breakdown of the concept:
- Duty of Care: Property owners have a responsibility to ensure their property is reasonably safe for visitors. The level of care they owe can vary based on the type of visitor:
- Invitee: A person who enters the property for a purpose related to the owner’s business or activities, like a customer in a store. Owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees.
- Licensee: A person who is on the property for their own purpose but with the owner’s consent, like a social guest. The owner owes a moderate duty of care to licensees.
- Trespasser: Someone who enters without any right or the owner’s permission. Typically, the owner owes the least duty of care, but they cannot willfully cause harm to the trespasser.
- Breach of Duty: If the property owner knows, or should reasonably know, about a dangerous condition and fails to address it or warn visitors, they have breached their duty.
- Causation: For the property owner to be held liable, there must be a direct link between the dangerous condition and the injury. This means the injury wouldn’t have occurred if not for the owner’s negligence.
- Damages: The injured party must prove they suffered damages, whether physical, emotional, or financial, due to the accident.
Examples and Scenarios
Premises liability encompasses a wide range of situations and scenarios. Here are some common examples to help you understand the breadth of cases that might fall under this legal umbrella:
- Slip-and-Fall Accidents: These are perhaps the most widely recognized premises liability cases. Examples include:
- A customer slipping on a wet supermarket floor that wasn’t properly marked.
- Tripping over an uneven sidewalk outside a business.
- Falling on icy steps that haven’t been salted or cleared.
- Swimming Pool Accidents: Property owners with pools are expected to maintain them and ensure safety.
- A child might drown in a pool without proper fencing or gates.
- Someone could slip on a pool deck that lacks the necessary anti-slip coating.
- Dog Bites or Animal Attacks: While not limited solely to premises liability, many dog bite cases fall under this category.
- A visitor might get bitten by an unsecured dog in a friend’s backyard.
- Livestock or other animals escaping from a property and causing harm.
- Inadequate Security: Typically, this involves situations where inadequate security led to an injury or crime.
- An assault in a parking garage with poor lighting and no security cameras.
- A robbery in an apartment complex known for security lapses.
- Toxic Substance Exposure: Property owners might be liable if they expose visitors to harmful substances.
- Mold in a rented apartment leading to respiratory issues.
- Lead paint exposure in older buildings.
- Elevator and Escalator Accidents: If these machines aren’t maintained properly, they can lead to significant injuries.
- A malfunctioning escalator suddenly stops, causing someone to trip and fall.
- An elevator stops between floors, leading to a fall when someone tries to exit.
- Fires: Poorly maintained properties can be prone to fires, leading to potential liability.
- A faulty electrical system in an old building leads to a fire.
- Falling Objects: Items that aren’t secured properly can lead to injury.
- A customer in a store is injured when a poorly-stacked product falls from a high shelf.
- Falling debris from a construction site.
- Children on Property: There are unique considerations when children are involved, often related to “attractive nuisances.”
- A child trespasses to play on a broken trampoline in a neighbor’s yard and gets injured.
- A child is drawn to an unsecured construction site and gets hurt.
- Poor Maintenance: General lack of property upkeep can lead to various accidents.
- Collapsing balconies or porches.
- Staircases with broken railings.
In each of these scenarios, the key is to determine whether the property owner knew (or should have known) about the dangerous condition and whether they took reasonable steps to correct the issue or warn visitors. If they failed in this duty and someone got injured as a result, they might be held liable in a premises liability claim.
It’s worth noting that comparative negligence plays a role in New Jersey premises liability cases. If the injured party is found to be partly at fault for their injuries (e.g., they were texting and not paying attention when they tripped), any compensation might be reduced by their percentage of fault.
Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer at Bramnick Law for a Free Consultation About Your Case Today
Being injured on someone else’s property can be a traumatic experience. However, New Jersey’s premises liability laws are in place to protect your rights and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve if the property owner’s negligence caused your injuries. Whether you slipped on an icy patch or had a swimming pool accident, it’s vital to understand your rights and the possible legal recourse.
If you or a loved one has been injured on someone else’s property in New Jersey, it’s crucial to seek legal advice promptly. The experienced team at Bramnick Law is here to help. With a deep understanding of New Jersey’s premises liability laws, we’ll guide you every step of the way and fight for the compensation you deserve. Don’t suffer in silence – reach out to us today.
Contact Bramnick Law for a free consultation on your premises liability claim