If you are injured due to a dangerous condition on someone’s property, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. A premises liability lawyer can help you fight for justice for your injury. At Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., our Houston injury attorneys have handled hundreds of premises liability cases. Talk to a Houston premises liability lawyer about your case by calling (713) 932-0777.
Overview of Premises Liability Law
What is premises liability?
Premises liability is the area of law dealing with liability for people suffering injuries that result from some condition or use of the property. This can range from the grocery store slip and fall to unprotected swimming pools to dangerous conditions in amusement parks. The basics of this are that the person is injured on someone else’s property, and that person was under some duty to prevent or reduce the risk of the injury from occurring.
If I am injured on someone’s property, are property owners liable?
Just because you are injured on another person’s property does not mean they are automatically responsible for your injury. To recover, you must prove the property owner owed you a duty and failed to perform it. You should consult a personal injury lawyer to determine whether your case qualifies.
What must I prove to win a premise liability case?
As a general rule, to win a premises liability case, you must prove four things: 1) A duty owed, 2) a breach of the duty; 3) proximate cause, and; 4) damages.
Duty of Care
A property owner is not an insurer of the property. Whether the premises in question is a residential property, commercial property, or farm/recreational property all play into what laws apply and what duties are imposed upon the landowner. A possessor of land owes entirely different duties to someone who is invited to be there either by express invitation or implied and someone who is there without an invitation for his own business purposes. They have a legal responsibility to invited guests and patrons but not those who are trespassing.
Additionally, in landlord/tenant situations, there are additional duties that arise under the lease agreement that may come into play. All of these issues need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Protect your rights and take legal action against the liable party with help from a Houston premises liability lawyer at our firm.
Breach of Duty
Once a duty has been established, then you must show the property owner breached his duty and failed to take responsibility for their property. In a typical premises case, this means you must prove the property owner was aware of a dangerous condition or should have been aware of a dangerous condition and that they failed to ensure the safety of guests by remedying the danger or adequately warning them against it.
Wet floors create a dangerous condition that gives rise to a duty to warn,
An important note about this issue is that the evidence easily disappears. Often, videos get “recycled” or the cause of the injury gets repaired and discarded. Thus, you should retain a good Houston personal injury attorney to send a spoliation letter demanding that the evidence be preserved and turned over at an appropriate time. Delaying in calling an attorney can result in the permanent loss of critical evidence in these cases. It does not matter whether the property owner intended to create a dangerous conditions failed to warn, or failed to take action. Thus, if you have been injured and think you may have a premises liability case such as a slip and fall or trip and fall, call us immediately for a free consultation.
Proximate Cause
“Proximate cause” requires that you prove that the negligence that created the danger posed to you caused the injuries you have. In other words, you must show that you did not have knowledge of the danger and ignore the warning or risk yourself. You must also show that you were acting reasonably and not the sole proximate cause of your own private injuries.
Damages
Damages from a slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall, drunk driving, or other premises liability case can vary from very slight to very serious but may allow you to bring a claim against the liable party. Some of the most common premises liability and catastrophic injuries we have seen from premises liability cases are as follows:
- Spinal cord injury;
- Scars;
- Traumatic brain injury and concussion;
- Whiplash;
- Broken bones;
- Burn injuries;
- Death.
Should I Hire a Premise Liability Lawyer Near Me?
You should never hire a lawyer solely based on convenience. However, premise liability cases need to be investigated and this often requires the attorney or his investigator to go to the scene. It is a good idea to ask any attorney who is not close: “Are you able to get to the scene or send an investigator to the scene if the case requires it or should I talk to a premise liability lawyer near me who is also qualified to handle a premise liability claim?”
You Need a Houston Premises Liability Lawyer On Your Side to Get the Compensation You Deserve
If you have been injured upon someone’s property as a result of a dangerous condition left unresolved and not made obvious to you, you should consult an experienced Houston premises liability lawyer. Our firm handles many different types of premises liability cases, including;
- Slip and falls resulting in traumatic brain injuries;
- Trip and falls;
- Swimming pool accidents;
- Elevator accidents;
- Negligent security;
- Construction site accidents resulting in spinal cord injuries;
- Railing and balcony accidents;
- Amusement park and carnival accidents;
- <“https://www.simmonsandfletcher.com/premises-liability/trampoline-accident-lawyer/”>Trampoline accidents.
These are only a few of the most common types of premises liability cases we handle. When you have been hurt on someone else’s property you need legal support as soon as possible. Call Simmons and Fletcher, P.C.’s premises liability attorneys in Houston today for a free consultation about your case and find out when the statute of limitations to file your premises liability claim expires.
The Value of Your Houston Premises Liability Case
Calculating the value of your civil claim will be one of your Houston personal injury attorney’s most important responsibilities. It might surprise you to discover that you have the right to be repaid for every single loss you have experienced. Under Texas law and premises liability laws, you have the right to maximum compensation or to be made whole.
Your premises liability attorney will also need to examine the extent of economic and non-economic damages you may be entitled to which will ensure you receive fair compensation for your suffering. Collectively, some examples of the compensatory damages you could be awarded include:
- Pain and suffering;
- Emotional distress;
- Inconvenience;
- Disfigurement and skin scarring;
- Lost wages;
- Medical expenses;
- Healthcare equipment and devices;
- Future medical treatment and care;
- Loss of future potential earnings;
- Diminished quality of life;
- Loss of employee benefits;
- Loss of love, support, companionship, and society;
- Increased insurance premiums;
- Loss of household services.
These are just a few examples of damages you may be entitled to as part of your premises liability case. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney at Simmons & Fletcher, P.C., to file a premises liability claim, learn more about how much your individual case could be worth, and file a claim against those responsible.
Why Should I Hire a Houston Premises Liability Lawyer?
One of the most important reasons to hire a premises liability lawyer is that he knows how to take steps to secure critical evidence such as surveillance videos and eyewitness statements. Premise liability proof can disappear quickly leaving you with no case.
Some of the things Simmons and Fletcher, P.C.’s Houston premises liability lawyers do for our clients in these matters are:
- Send spoliation letters to prevent the destruction of valuable video evidence in the landlord’s possession;
- Subpoena/obtain incident reports, investigative material, government reports, and other necessary documents;
- Photograph the scene to preserve the evidence before remedial measures (repairs) can be performed to hide the evidence;
- Interview eye-witnesses;
- Depose the landowner, other third party, and/or his representatives and employees;
- Take negligent landowners to trial.
If you have been injured as the result of a failed property owner’s responsibility and negligence, contact our Houston personal injury team today for committed representation in your premises liability case and discuss your legal options further. We do not charge any payment of attorney’s fees nor our attorney expenses unless we win a settlement or verdict for you.
Our law firm is located next to the Memorial City Mall in Houston, Texas. We handle serious injury cases across the State of Texas and are more than happy to work with you via, email, Skype, or phone to make handling the case convenient for you. We also have investigators and lawyers who travel to investigate and explore cases where they happen.
The information above should not be taken as legal advice. Contact us online today for committed support in your premises liability case and put our years of experience to work for you. Make sure to schedule your free case evaluation by phone at (713) 932-0777 or through our online contact form to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions & Helpful Information
For more information on premises liability law, or for legal advice you can count on, please read about one of these frequently asked-about premises liability topics:
- Is the city liable for defects in city-owned sidewalks?
- The difficulty of the grocery store slip and fall case.
- The difficulty of the premises liability case in Texas hospitals and medical facilities.
- Are business owners liable for falls?
- Landowner liability for slip and falls on ice.
- What is the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine?
- Walmart slip and fall accidents.
- Lowes accidents
- Falls at Kroger
- Home Depot accidents
- Liability for bed bugs
A Client’s Review
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