Premises liability injuries can occur in several different situations and vary in severity.
Many people spend a good part of their day on someone else’s property, whether grocery shopping, at a restaurant, or recreating.
When you are legally on a piece of property owned by someone else, the property owner owes you specific duties to lessen the risk of you suffering an injury.
If a property owner breaches their duty of care and the breach causes your injuries, they may be liable for your financial losses.
Our firm understands the inconvenience and stress premises liability injuries can put a family under.
An attorney at the Cottrell Law Office can worry about the complexities of your legal claim while you focus on your recovery.
Contact our office today so we can look for ways to hold the party responsible for your injuries accountable.
What Does Premises Liability Mean?
Premises liability is the legal theory that property owners are responsible for certain accidents that occur on their property.
The law imposes a duty of care on property owners to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition for guests, visitors, or residents on the property.
Typically, this involves regularly maintaining the property and repairing any dangerous conditions.
If a hazard cannot be immediately remedied, the property owner must give adequate warnings so guests can protect themselves from the hazard.
One important note, property owners generally do not owe a legal duty to trespassers.
Thus, if someone breaks into a department store after hours and suffers injuries in a fall, they will likely not receive compensation for their injuries.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
The National Floor Safety Institute reported that falls account for over eight million emergency room visits annually.
The severity of the injury will typically depend on whether you fell from an elevated surface and what material you fell on.
Common injuries suffered in slip and fall cases include:
- Pulled muscles,
- Spinal cord injuries,
- Neck injuries,
- Back injuries,
- Broken bones,
- Bruises and scrapes,
- Sprains, and
- Paralysis.
If you suffer an injury after a fall, seek medical treatment as soon as you can. Your medical records can provide evidence of your injury and your medical costs if your case ends up going to trial.
Where Can Premises Liability Injuries Occur?
Falls can occur almost anywhere. Some of the most common incidents occur in:
- Grocery stores,
- Department stores,
- Movie theaters,
- Parking lots,
- Restaurants, and
- Apartment complexes.
This list does not include every location where a slip-and-fall accident can occur.
How Can I Prove a Property Owner’s Negligence Caused My Injuries?
As stated above, if a property owner breaches the duty of care to keep their property safe and you suffer an injury as a result, they may be liable for your injuries.
A property owner can breach their duty in many different ways, such as:
- Leaving drink or food spills exposed,
- Failing to provide warnings for wet or icy conditions,
- Failing to remove debris from walkways,
- Not including adequate lighting in stairways, and
- Failing to provide warnings of open and obvious dangers.
If you can establish that the owner’s breach caused your injury, you will likely be able to recover damages from the property owner.
If You Suffered Injuries in a Slip and Fall Accident, Contact a Premises Liability Attorney at Cottrell Law Office Today
If you suffered premises liability injuries in Arkansas or Missouri, you might not know where to turn. Luckily, the Cottrell Law Office is here to help.
Whether you slipped on the floor in a grocery aisle, fell down a poorly lit set of stairs, or tripped on a dangerous object, our team has the knowledge and experience necessary to fight for you.
Our founding attorney, Wes Cottrell, is committed to fighting for compensation for those injured by another person’s negligence.
We can help you by:
- Interviewing potential witnesses,
- Developing a strategy to demonstrate the property owner’s negligence,
- Negotiating with insurance representatives on your behalf, and
- Preparing your case for trial, if necessary.
If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a slip and fall accident, call Cottrell Law Office today so we can start reviewing your case.
Wesley Cottrell
Wes Cottrell earned his B.A. from Pittsburg State University in 1981 and his J.D. from the Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas in 1985. He was admitted to practice law in Kansas in 1986, in Missouri in 1987, in Arkansas in 1989, and Oklahoma in 1993. He is licensed to practice law in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, eastern Arkansas, western Arkansas, and western Missouri. He was Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Crawford County, Kansas from 1987-1989.
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