Your friend gets a new home and you can’t help feeling excited about visiting for the first time. This is your friend’s first home and first time owning their own land. They are just as excited as you are about having people over in a home instead of an apartment.
The first thing they do when they settle into the home is invite you over for a house-warming get-together. When you get there, you slip and fall down the stairs as you walk around the home during a tour.
Your friend knew about the slippery stairs but didn’t think anyone would fall down them. As the owner of the property with an awareness of the issue, it is your friend’s responsibility to pay your medical bills.
Your lawyer tells you about premises liability and gives you more information about a possible case. Let’s take a deeper look into premises liability and what it entails.
“Examples of Premises Liability”
There are several types of injuries that would fall under a premises liability case. They include slip and fall, snow and ice accidents, inadequate maintenance, defective conditions, and inadequate security that leads to an injury or assault.
They also include elevator/escalator accidents, dog bites, swimming pool accidents, amusement park accidents, fires, water leaks or flooding, and toxic fumes or chemicals. As you will notice, there are quite a few incidents that can be considered a premises liability case.
If there is an unsafe condition on the person’s property that they knew about, they are responsible for paying the medical bills for any injuries you sustain because of that condition.
“Duty of Care”
Property owners are required to exercise reasonable care when it comes to the maintenance of the property. That way, no visitors are harmed while visiting the property.
Visitors are separated into three categories: invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Property owners are not responsible for trespassers unless the trespasser is a child. If it is a child, then the owner is responsible for making sure the child gets treated by medical professionals.
An invitee has the owner’s permission to be on the property and are usually family, friends, or neighbors. A licensee has the property owner’s permission to enter the property but is doing so for a motive of some sort.
An example of an licensee would be a salesperson going door to door. The property owner is duty-bound to tell the person about any dangerous conditions if they know about the condition and the licensee is not able to discover it on their own.
“Your Options”
You have the option of opening a case if you wish to do so. As the owner of the property, it is their responsibility to pay for any medical bills you incur. You know it may be a hassle to open a case but you can’t afford your medical bills otherwise.
You may not have another choice, especially if your family is pressuring you to file a lawsuit against the owner of the property. At the end of the day, it is up to you what you decide to do from this point forward.
Greenville, NC Personal Injury Attorneys
I’m Brian Ricci, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Greenville, NC. If you have suffered a personal injury, please call me anytime at (252) 777-2222 or 1-800-387-6406 for free, friendly advice. Let’s go over the details of your accident case over the phone and see how best to proceed. The call is free and there is no obligation to you.
I am a longtime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
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