Premises Liability

Jacksonville Premises Liability Lawyers

Premises liability occurs when you are injured on someone else’s property. As Jacksonville Premises Liability Lawyers, we know these cases can take many forms:

• Slip, trip, and fall accidents where hazards in a public place cause injuries;
• Dog bites or injury due to dogs;
• Swimming pool accidents;
• Inadequate security on private property leading to an assault or death;
• Poor lighting conditions that create a hazard causing injury; and
• Defective products.

By far, the most common Premises Liability scenario deals with slips, trips, and falls. Our Jacksonville Premises Liability Lawyers have successfully handled hundreds of slip, trip, and fall cases. Many of the cases we handle have occurred in grocery stores, restaurants, bars, department stores, parking lots, sporting venues, movie theaters, and concerts. Because we have handled cases in these locations, we know proving your premises liability case can change depending on where and how you were injured.

Potential Defendants

Depending on where the injury took place, there may be more than one potential defendant.  If you were injured in a business establishment, there may be defendants other than the business who may share responsibility.  For example, does the business utilize a cleaning company to mop and wax the floors?  Does the grocery store pay an outside repair company to work on their freezer and refrigeration units?  Does the property owner delegate the operation of their apartment complex to a property management company?  In all those situations, if the outside entity does not do its job correctly in a manner that causes or contributes to the hazard giving rise to the injury, that entity may be responsible.

Premises Owner’s Duty to Invitees

Depending on your status, there are different duties a landowner, business owner, or their employees/agents owe to a person on their property. Generally, the duty is to warn invitees on the property of known dangers or dangers the owner should know about through reasonable inspection. They also owe a separate duty to make the premises safe. This duty extends to people invited on the property as a social guest or to conduct business.

However, a much lower duty is owed to trespassers on land. In that case, the owner only owes a duty not to engage in willful or wanton behavior resulting in injury to the trespasser. If you have been injured on someone’s premises in Jacksonville, it is important to tell your lawyer all the facts surrounding the incident.

Causes of Premises Liability Claims

Our attorneys at Rosenberg & Calvin have handled premises liability cases arising out of the following situations:

• Wet or slippery floors due to spills, leaks, or mopping;
• Uneven or damaged flooring surfaces;
• Lack of warning signs for potential hazards, such as wet floors or uneven surfaces;
• Cluttered walkways or aisles obstructed by merchandise or equipment;
• Inadequate lighting, making it difficult to see obstacles or hazards;
• Improperly maintained or worn-out floor coverings, mats, or rugs;
• Loose or broken steps, stairs, or handrails; and
• Improperly stacked or stored items that can fall or cause an obstruction.

The causes giving rise to a premises liability claim often fall into a few categories; the failure to maintain, the failure to observe, and active negligence. The first two are similar. For example, a grocery store has the responsibility to maintain their floors in a reasonably safe condition. This involves routinely sweeping, mopping, and waxing the floors to keep them safe for their patrons and their employees. The store’s failure to maintain their floors can create slipping or tripping hazards. Similarly, the grocery store has an obligation to look out for and observe potential hazards they know or should know about such as spilled liquid, dropped fruit, or fallen display items causing a tripping hazard.

Lastly, if the store mops an area of the floor and creates a dangerous slippery condition, they have an obligation to warn customers by placing cones, warning signs, or blocking off the aisle.

Injuries Caused by Premises Liability Accidents

Many of our most serious Personal Injury Cases in Jacksonville come from people who have slipped, tripped, or fallen.  Injury victims have little time to protect themselves from the fall.  Many clients slip or fall landing awkwardly on hard surfaces such as concrete or tile.  Injuries due to falls can lead fractures requiring surgery to the person’s back, shoulder, knee, wrist, or forearm.  Falls are the leading cause of brain injuries and can result in death.  However, a person does not need to suffer a broken bone to have a lasting injury from a fall.  Many slip and fall injuries can not be cured with a procedure or medication leaving the person facing a lengthy rehabilitation and a permanent injury.

Statistics

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, for people ages 25 and up, there were over five million unintentional falls resulting in injury necessitating a visit to the emergency room.  There were over 42,000 additional individuals who died as a result of their fall. As you would expect, our aging population is more susceptible to falling and due to the aging process, they are also more likely to be seriously injured.

“Should Have Looked Where You Were Going” Defense

We hear it all the time, “It happened so fast.” One minute someone is walking through the store looking for a food item and the next thing they remember, they are on the floor in pain. Defense attorneys often try to blame the victim of a fall for not paying attention and not looking out where they were going.

Through our experience, we show how the grocery store goes to great lengths to attract shoppers to look at the food on the shelves, rather than inspect where they are walking. They place blinking sale lights or coupons hanging below their display shelves. Retail stores spend time and effort to make their displays attractive to draw your attention to the clothes racks, not the floor.

We know many stores have policies in place to prevent the type of hazard that caused our client’s injuries. Grocery stores need to check their aisles routinely and retail shops need to keep their walkways free of clutter or items likely to grab and catch on customers’ feet as they walk through the racks.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of someone’s failure to use reasonable care and or warn you of hazards they knew about or should have known about, consider contacting our Jacksonville Premises Liability Lawyers to assist you with your claim and to ensure you are fully and fairly compensated.