Experienced Premises Liability Lawyer in Mobile, AL
When someone suffers an injury and incurs monetary and non-monetary losses, two things that will likely affect their ability to recover compensation for their losses are where the accident occurred and who was to blame for its occurrence. In the event that the accident and injury happen on the property of someone other than the injury victim, the legal theory of premises liability may come into play. At the Law Office of J. Allan Brown, LLC, our Alabama premises liability attorneys can assist you in understanding this legal theory, your rights under it, and how to pursue damages. Contact us today for your free consultation.
Types of Premises Liability Injury Claims
There are dozens of different injury types that may occur on the property of another party. We are well-versed in all elements of premises liability law and have more than a decade of combined legal experience fighting for the rights of injured clients. We have successfully handled numerous types of accident injury cases, including but not limited to:- Slip and fall accidents;
– Construction site accidents;
– Dog bites;
– Fires and explosions;
– Drowning and near-drowning accidents;
– Amusement park accidents; and
– Negligent security-related accidents.If you or a loved one has been injured in any type of accident that occurred on the property of another party, we want to meet with you. Premises liability claims can be brought against private citizens and residential homeowners, private and commercial businesses, private organizations, and even government entities.
What Is Premises Liability Law?
The theory of premises liability holds that property owners owe those who enter their property a certain duty of care, and when this duty of care is breached and a visitor to the property suffers harm as a result, the property owner can be held liable for damages. Like most personal injury claims, the foundation of a premises liability action is negligence; the failure to exercise the property duty of care. The basic elements of a premises liability case are as follows:
– A property owner has a duty to maintain their property in a safe and hazard-free condition;
– A property owner has a duty to remedy any known hazards on the property within a reasonable amount of time;
– If a hazard on a property leads to an injury, the property owner can be held liable if it can be proven that the property owner:
– Knew or should have known of the dangerous condition; and
– Failed to remedy the condition within a reasonable amount of time.
Damages in Premises Liability Claims
As stated earlier, a premises liability claim can be brought against any property owner whose negligence leads to the injury of another, including a private business or a government entity. Further, it is important to note that an injured party can seek compensation for the full value of their damages, including compensation for both economic and noneconomic losses. This means that if you have been injured due to a property owner’s negligence, you can pursue damages for:
– Medical expenses and future medical expenses;
– Lost wages and future loss of earnings; and
– The value of your pain, suffering, emotional distress, and other non-economic damages.
The value of your claim and the amount that you may be able to recover depends on the extent of your losses and the types and values of insurance available. Most premises liability claims are not paid out-of-pocket by the property owner, but from a homeowners’ insurance or other liability insurance policy.
Duty to Trespassers and the Doctrine of Attractive Nuisance
One thing that is very important to understand about a premises liability claim is that typically, property owners do not owe any duty to trespassers other than to refrain from causing willful or wanton harm. This means that if you are harmed on a property while trespassing, you may be barred from recovering damages and holding the property owner liable for your losses.
However, there is one exception to this found under the doctrine of attractive nuisance: child trespassers are still owed a duty of care in certain cases. The doctrine of attractive nuisance holds that if a child trespasser is injured on a property, the property owner may be held liable for injuries if:
– A dangerous condition existed on the property;
– The dangerous condition is one that would be expected to attract children; and
– The property owner knew of the condition and failed to remedy it or take steps to prevent children from entering the property.
Examples of dangerous conditions that one would reasonably expect to entice children might include the existence of a trampoline, swimming pool, abandoned structures, old vehicles or discarded appliances.
Alabama Statute of Limitations
If you are injured on another’s property, you are limited in the amount of time that you have to bring forth a claim for damages against the property owner by the state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims. The statute holds that all claims must be filed within two years from the date of the cause of action. If you wait longer than two years to file your suit, you will most likely be permanently barred from recovering compensation. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you begin the civil process as soon as possible after suffering an injury.
Call Our Alabama Premises Liability Lawyers Today
Suffering an injury on someone else’s property can be scary, especially if the accident leaves you with serious, long-term, or disabling injuries. When your accident was caused by the negligence of the property owner or caretaker where the incident happened, you deserve to be fully compensated.
When you retain the Law Office of J. Allan Brown, LLC, we go to work immediately reviewing the details of your case, investigating your accident, and building a solid case for your claim. Alabama uses the highly unfavorable legal standard known as “contributory negligence.” This means that if an injured party is found to be even 1% at fault for their injury, they may be barred from recovering compensation. We have in-depth knowledge of this area of the law, and what it takes to overcome the “contributory negligence” standard.