Jacoby & Meyers Premise Liability Lawyers – Fighting Tenaciously for Injury Victims Since 1972
Injuries that occur on the premises of another are among the most common types of injuries experienced by accident victims. Premise liability law imposes obligations on the owner or occupier of property to take affirmative action to reduce the risk of injuries to a person on one’s property as well as designating the rights of those present on the property to be compensated for their injuries. If you are on the premises of another, you may suffer injuries caused by an accident like a slip and fall or acts of violence like an assault.
A slip and fall injury accident is the most common type of premise liability accident. Many slip and fall victims presume that the most serious injury suffered in a slip and fall is a bruised ego. This could not be further from the truth as many slip and fall injuries result in very serious even traumatic injuries including brain injury, spinal cord injury and broken bones and fractures. Slip and fall accidents are particularly dangerous for senior family members, as falls are the leading cause of fatal accidents among elderly adults. Accidents resulting in falls involving the elderly also account for over 1.5 million emergency room visits in a typical year and almost 400,000 hospitalizations.
Key Principles of Premises Accidents Claims
The Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices have been assisting those injured on public, commercial and residential property of another since 1972. Premises liability lawsuits are complex because they involve constantly evolving law, intensive factual investigations and difficult issues of proving liability and damages. Our experienced premise liability attorneys understand the complex factual issues that are at the heart of many premises liability lawsuits. We typically engage in a meticulous investigation of the surrounding facts and circumstances of premises liability claims so that we can develop the strongest evidence to support our clients hazardous premises claim.
Premises liability claims in California come in a wide variety of forms including:
- Slip and fall injury accident
- Swimming pool accidents
- Negligent security claims
- Amusement park accident
- Construction accidents
- Dog bites
- Farming accidents
- Gas tank explosions
- Lead paint poisoning
- Explosions and fires
California premises liability law is based on a classification system covering those that venture onto the premises of another. A person who comes upon the premises of a third party is owed a different level of care depending on whether that visitor is classified as an invitee, licensee or trespasser.
Invitee: An invitee is basically someone who is on property for a mutual benefit of both parties (e.g. legitimate business transaction). A person who is an invitee has permission to be on the premises for this type of purpose, which is either express or implied. While this type of relationship may often be a commercial transaction, this is not necessarily the case. The owner and occupier of premises typically owes a duty to warn an invitee of latent (non-obvious) unsafe conditions of which a premises owner is aware or with reasonable inspection should know exists. An invitee is owed the highest duty of care by a premise owner who must exercise reasonable care to make the premises safe. Some examples of visitors that may be considered invitees include:
- Patron of a store or restaurant
- Handyman hired to perform work
- Member attending a community service club function
Licensee: Someone that is classified as a licensee is essentially a social guest. This is someone who is not on the property for a mutual commercial purpose, such as to enter into or perform under the terms of a contract, but for the visitor’s own purposes. If a person is on premises for this purpose, the property owner/occupier has an obligation to warn of hazardous conditions that the owner/occupier is aware exists that would not be obvious to visitors. However, the obligation is only to warn of such conditions not to make them safe unless the hazard is posed by an active operation on the property. A duty or reasonable care to make the premises safe does exist in this situation.
Trespassers: A person who comes on one’s property without permission that is either express or implied is owed the lowest duty of care. Unless the property owner is aware a trespasser is present or trespassers regularly come on the premises, a property owner does not generally owe the trespasser any duty of care. However there are some exceptions to this general rule including:
- Artificial (Manmade) Conditions: If the property owner has created a non-obvious hazardous condition as opposed to the condition occurring naturally, the owner owes an obligation to either warn or make the premises safe if the condition is like to result in severe injury or a fatality. This applies to hazards that are manmade like lumber piles, swimming pools and partially built construction projects as opposed to natural hazards like rock formations. The same principle applies if the premise owner is aware of frequent trespassers coming on one’s property.
- Children (Attractive Nuisance Doctrine): This is a special exception intended to protect children who may lack the maturity and experience to recognize potential hazards. If there are artificial conditions that the property owner knows of or should know of with reasonable inspection, the property owner must take reasonable care to make the premises safe. A property owner has an obligation to inspect one’s property for such hazards and take immediate action to repair the hazard if it is of the sort that might attract a child who may not be able to fully appreciate the risk. Examples of this type of hazard might include a swimming pool, tree house or scaffolding.
Effective Investigation of a Premises Liability Incident
Common types of premises liability injuries include those incurred from negligent security, slip and falls and animal attacks. Negligent security and slip and fall claims like other claims involving hazardous conditions on the premises often turn on particular facts of the case. Our premises liability law firm engages in careful investigation of these cases that may include:
Slip & Fall Injury Accidents
- Past and current accident reports
- Employee observations
- Security camera footage
- Length of time hazard was present
- Employee awareness of condition
- Prior reports made regarding hazard
- Lighting
- Warnings or barriers
- Evidence of past similar accidents
- Reports from safety inspections
Negligent Security
- Lighting and security presence
- Evidence of past crime in the vicinity
- Severity of past criminal activity
- Appropriateness of safety measures given past criminal activity
- Training and experience of security personnel
- Presence of security cameras
Animal Attacks (e.g. Dog Bites)
- Past attacks or biting incidents involving dog
- Witness (e.g. neighbor) reports of violent tendencies such as lunging and growling at visitors
- Aggression training by owner
- Attempts by owner to enclose or restrain dog
- Public reports of dog bite incidents involving dog
- Breed of dog
While these are only a few examples of the type of investigation and factual inquiry performed by our premise liability law firm, these example illustrate the fundamental role of meticulous investigation and artful use of the specific facts in a premises liability lawsuit. At Jacoby & Meyers, we have successfully represented thousands of clients in obtaining compensation to help them rebuild after serious premises accidents and other injuries incurred on the property of others.
Call Jacoby & Meyers for Your Premises Liability Lawyer
Our team of premises liability attorneys at Jacoby and Meyers Law Offices have almost forty year of experience representing clients in all types of premises accidents and injury cases. Our attorneys possess a well-established reputation for effective representation of those injured by unsafe premises of a property owner. We are well aware of the emotional, physical and financial challenges faced by those injured by hazardous conditions on private, commercial and public property. If you suffer injury from the hazardous conditions on the property of another, it is important to seek prompt legal advice. Because these case are so fact intensive, delay in seeking legal advice can lead to the loss of crucial evidence.
Time is of the essence to avoid statute of limitation issues that can serve as a complete bar to a personal injury lawsuit. If you are injured on public property, the urgency is even greater because special requirements and very short deadlines apply. Jacoby & Meyers has become synonymous with representing injury victims; we urge you to contact us to learn why.
We offer a free consultation so contact us to obtain a confidential evaluation of your premise liability claim. We have offices nationwide, including Southern California, New York, Alabama, Florida, and Arizona so call us at 1-800-411-4LAW to see how we can help.
