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When you get injured on someone else’s property, whether shopping at the grocery store or visiting a friend, it might not immediately seem like grounds for a personal injury case. Accidents do happen, after all. However, when you step onto another person’s premises by their invitation, they are generally subject to an unspoken social contract—to not willingly put you in harm’s way. If the property owner didn’t take reasonable steps to ensure your safety, they may be liable for negligence under premises liability law.
Premises liability law is the legal standard governing liability for personal injury on private property. The exact details of premises liability law vary from state to state, and in many states it is not written out in legal statutes but established as common law through a history of court cases.
After getting injured on someone else’s property in an accident, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the premises liability law in the state the accident took place in. Understanding how the law applies to your situation will help you to determine whether the property owner is liable for your injury.
Immediately after the accident, your first priority should be to ensure your own safety. If you are in danger in the immediate area and you are able to move, get to a safe location as soon as you can. Check the status of your injuries and call for medical help if necessary.
If you are able, it’s a good idea to record the scene of the accident. Using your cell phone or other personal device to take pictures and/or video of the scene, making sure to showcase the hazardous conditions which led to your injury. It’s also a good idea to document your injuries this way if you have any which are visible.
As soon as possible, inform the property owner of the accident. If you are at a place of business, there may be an accident reporting procedure they need to fill out. Ask for a copy of the accident report if one is made.
For more in-depth guidance, a slip-and-fall accident checklist can help point you in the right direction for many personal injury accidents on private property.
To know if you have a case after getting injured on someone else’s property, we recommend getting in touch with a personal injury attorney in your state (or the state where the accident occurred). An attorney’s legal expertise will allow them to apply the relevant premises liability law to your unique case.
However, there are a few general principles you can stick to get an idea of whether the property owner might be held liable.
In premises liability law, when someone is injured on someone else’s property, the property owner’s liability will depend in part on the status of the injured party while they were on the property. Generally, there are three different possible classifications: invitee, licensee, and trespasser, and each one typically comes with a slightly different duty of care for the property owner.
We’ll break down what each of the classifications means below, as well as what the duty of care tends to look like for each. However, note that these distinctions can vary slightly from state to state, and remember that many states’ premises liability standards are dictated by common law, which means they can be quite flexible.
An invitee is usually someone who is invited onto the property for the property owner’s gain, often through some kind of business transaction.
In most cases, invitees are owed the highest duty of care. Many states expect property owners to inspect the property for potential hazards regularly or before the invitee arrives, and to warn the invitee of any dangers. Failing to do so could leave the owner liable for an accident affecting the invitee.
You might be considered an invitee if (but not only if):
A licensee is similar to an invitee in that they are assumed to be on the property with the knowledge and consent of the owner. However, unlike in the case of invitees, property owners usually do not stand to gain anything directly from the licensee’s presence. They might invite a licensee to their property as a favor, or for social purposes.
While the duty of care to licensees is often somewhat less than that to invitees, property owners are still expected to maintain a reasonably safe environment. This duty does not typically include careful inspection as it does for invitees, but it does generally include warning licensees of any potential hazards the property owner is aware of.
You might be considered a licensee if (but not only if):
Unlike invitees and licensees, trespassers are those who do not have the owner’s permission or consent to be on the property. In most cases, property owners do not have as strict responsibilities towards trespassers, but still must avoid deliberately causing harm to them.
Sometimes, the fault may lie with multiple people, potentially including you. In this case, state negligence laws dictate how the fault of each liable party should be compared, which can also help determine how much compensation each party owes.
Before you pursue compensation for personal injury on private property, you should make sure you know the negligence law of the state where the accident took place. This becomes especially important if you hold any potential fault for the accident, such as in cases where the victim may have acted recklessly or failed to heed warnings of possible danger. Depending on your percentage of fault, your compensation could be reduced, or you could be barred from compensation entirely. Refer to the following table for a quick briefing on negligence laws:
Pure Comparative Negligence | You can recover compensation from an at-fault party as long as you don’t hold 100% of the fault, but your compensation will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. | Alaska, Arizona, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Washington |
Modified Comparative Negligence | You can recover compensation from an at-fault party as long as you don’t hold 50/51% percent of the fault, but your compensation will be reduced based on your percentage of fault. | Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
Slight / Gross Comparative Negligence | You can recover compensation from an at-fault party if your negligence is deemed “slight” and the other party’s negligence is deemed “gross.” (Or if you are not deemed negligent at all.) | South Dakota |
Contributory Negligence | You cannot recover compensation if you are even 1% at fault. | Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia |
If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property due to their negligence, you may be eligible for compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and more. But it’s important that you don’t fight this battle alone. Enlist the help of a personal injury lawyer to gain access to legal expertise and maximize your compensation amount.
At Senft Legal, we bring decades of experience in personal injury to the table to fight for the outcome you deserve, allowing you to focus on your recovery. We only get paid if you win, so you can rest assured that we will not take your case lightly. Call 24/7 for a free consultation.