Premises Liability

When someone is rightfully on the property of another, those who are deemed responsible for that property have a duty to keep that area safe for visitors, and to protect them from unreasonable risks and dangers of injury. This duty forms the foundation of what today is known as the law of premises liability, and this realm of personal injury law can be quite complicated and confusing to many people.

Basically, there are different variables that must be analyzed in order for a proper decision to be made regarding whether an injured person can and/or should pursue a legal claim under this theory. A few examples of these variables are listed below:

1. The ‘status’ of the visitor – ‘Status’ refers to the legal ‘level’ that was assigned to the injured visitor. For instance, if the injured visitor was an invitee or a licensee, then he or she is generally entitled to full protection from unreasonable dangers. If a person is seen as a ‘trespasser,’ then the level of protection goes down significantly.
2. The degree of danger – Anyone who is considering pursuing a legal claim on the basis of premises liability must properly analyze the degree of danger present. For instance, it must be decided whether that danger was foreseeable or unforeseeable, whether proper warnings were provided and whether, as a result, the injured part assumed the risk of injury in some manner.
3. The proper defendants – This may seem simple, but it’s often a difficult question to answer. For instance, if someone is injured in a retail shop that’s leased by the business owner but the property is owned by someone else, deciding on the defendant in a premises liability claim could be difficult depending on the facts surrounding the situation.

What all of this means is that if you or someone you love has been injured on someone else’s property, you need to contact a premises liability lawyer to schedule an initial consultation in order to work through these scenarios and come to an informed decision regarding how you should proceed. Below are three common factual scenarios that surround claims for premises liability:

1. Swimming pools – Swimming pools are an obvious danger to anyone, particularly children and even more so if proper supervision isn’t provided at all times that someone may use a swimming pool.
2. Construction site – Construction sites present obvious dangers as well, both to workers and passers-by, but another issue that could arise often is whether an injured party was rightfully on the construction site in the first place.
3. Military site – Military sites are usually off limits for the general public, but there are times when people are invited onto a base or facility for some limited purpose. If someone is injured in this situation, a complication that could arise is how to name the proper defendants.

Of course, there are other factual scenarios that could give rise to a claim of premises liability. The bottom line is that if you or someone you love has been injured on someone else’s property, you need to contact a premises liability lawyer to schedule an initial consultation.

Swimming Pools

Swimming pools have always been seen as an oasis from the heat that generally covers the United States during the summer months. Those looking for relief tend to swim or play in either a public or a private pool, and this is especially true in areas where it’s warm all year. However, swimming pools can also be extremely dangerous for many reasons, and below are just a few of those:

1. Water can be inherently dangerous – As most understand, it only takes a few inches of water, or enough to cover a person’s nose and mouth, to drown. Thousands of people drown every year, and many occur in pools where people can slip and fall into a pool, hit their head on the pool’s foundation and other reasons. However, many drowning are also the result of a lack of supervision either by a lifeguard at a public pool or by the owners of a private pool.
2. Surfaces can be slippery – Obviously, the surroundings of a pool can be dangerously slippery if they are not properly maintained. Anyone could slip and fall in these areas, and given that most of these surfaces are concrete, head injuries occur often and can be extremely dangerous, especially if they occur in or near water.

Overall, swimming pools can offer great relief and fun, but they must be approached with caution. If you or someone you love has been injured or worse in or near a public or private swimming pool, contact a premises liability lawyer today to schedule an initial consultation.

Construction Site

The United States has seen a record-setting construction boom unfold during the first few years of the 21st Century. This boom has been related to both residential and commercial construction, and while this phenomenon has helped provide a boost to the economy, the thousands of construction sites in place at any given time around the country also present innumerable dangers and risks for anyone who comes near them.

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of your lawful presence on a construction site or even being rightfully nearby such a place, you could have a valid claim for premises liability depending on the factual circumstances that surround your situation. You need to contact a construction site accident lawyer to schedule an initial consultation to obtain the answers you need.

Below is a brief look at those who can be at-risk simply by being on or near a construction site:

1. Workers – While workers generally have workers’ compensation statutes to protect them, these are not always adequate in their remedies, and they may not necessarily protect independent contractors.
2. Passers-by – Construction sites can be located in the middle of large population centers, and anyone who must drive or walk by such a site can be injured by any sort of unforeseen circumstance, such as falling equipment, collapses or any other unforeseen occurrence.

As stated, the two types of typical victims of construction site accidents are not the only people who can be injured in this regard. If you or someone you love has suffered this type of injury, contact a construction site accident lawyer as soon as possible to schedule an initial consultation.

Military Site

Given the reality of the times in which we live, there is a lot of activity on military sites around the United States. Generally speaking, the general public or civilians are not allowed to simply walk onto a military site or base without some sort of explicit permission and limited purpose. However, that does not mean that injuries on military sites never occur, and in fact they do quite often.

If you or someone you love has been injured on or near a military site, you could be entitled to pursue a justifiable legal recovery, depending on the facts that surround your situation. The best way to find out whether pursuing a claim would be advisable would be to contact a military site accident lawyer to schedule an initial consultation.

Clearly, even if someone is allowed onto a military site, injuries can occur, as depending on the specific base, planes could be flying low to the ground in drills, ammunition could be discharged during training, explosions can occur and many other unforeseen circumstances can arise, and many of these injuries can be quite severe or even permanent. People can also be injured as a result of merely being near a military site, particularly if munitions are discharged or any other problem arises that expands beyond the borders of the mapped-out military base.

If this has happened to you, you owe it to yourself to explore your options. Contact a military site accident lawyer today to schedule an initial consultation and to formulate a basis of knowledge from which to move forward.