Premises liability cases deal with accidents in places such as a neighbor’s house, a grocery store, a fast-food restaurant, or public spaces, like parks and schools. A person who has sustained injuries as a result of unsafe conditions on someone else’s property is well-advised to contact a Stockton premises liability lawyer for help negotiating a settlement or launching a civil case to recover for their damages.
An experienced personal injury attorney from Valero Law Group can help in many ways, including gathering evidence to establish liability, working with expert witnesses, and negotiating for a fair settlement with the at-fault party’s insurer or counsel. Do not hesitate to reach out. Our team is ready to help you move forward and is always available for calls. We can also arrange for transportation or come to you if you are unable to make it into our office.
Types of Premises Liability Cases
Our experience helps our Stockton attorneys identify and navigate challenging legal issues in a wide range of premises liability cases, including:
- Dog bites
- Slip and falls
- Negligent security
- Swimming pool accidents
- Escalator and elevator accidents
- Construction and other workplace accidents
A premises liability claim can arise from accidents on commercial property, private residential property, or property that a local, state, or federal government maintains. Regardless of the situation, our team can review the details of your circumstances to help you choose the best path forward and protect your legal rights along the way.
Proving Premises Liability
Having a successful claim for a Stockton premises liability accident requires an attorney to prove the four elements of negligence. These include:
- Duty of Care: Establishing the property owner actually owed the injured person a duty of care. The level of this duty depends on their status as a visitor to the property.
- Breach: Once it is established the owner owed a duty of care, it must also be proven that the owner failed to uphold that duty the way a reasonable person would in similar circumstances. This may involve showing the owner failed to fix a loose floorboard or promptly clean up a spill, for example.
- Causation: An injured person and their attorney must also prove the link between the property owner’s failure to uphold their standard of care and the injuries sustained. Their breach should be the direct cause of harm.
- Damages: The injuries sustained must have required medical care and resulted in damages including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
As mentioned above, the amount of liability a property owner holds depends on the reason the injured person was on their property. For example, an invitee is on the premises for the benefit of the owner such as a customer at a store or restaurant. Business owners owe the highest amount of responsibility to their customers and must warn of or remedy any known hazards as well as regularly inspect for potential unknown dangerous conditions.
A licensee, on the other hand, is on the premises for their own benefit such as a visitor at a friend’s house or someone using the restroom in a store, but not doing business there. Owners only must warn of known dangers in these circumstances. Additionally, an owner does not owe a trespasser any duty of care other than to not intentionally cause them harm. However, special considerations are made for child trespassers.
Call a Stockton Premises Liability Attorney Today
Anyone who has been injured in a premises liability incident should make sure one of their first calls is to a knowledgeable attorney who can help them understand their legal options for moving forward. Incidents like slip-and-falls and dog bites might seem minor but can lead to thousands of dollars in lost wages and medical bills.
If you have been injured while on someone else’s property, do not compound the damages by trying to handle a case on your own. A talented Stockton premises liability lawyer from Valero Law Group is available for a free consultation today.
