Business owners in California have a responsibility to take steps to keep people safe while they are on business property. When a person suffers an injury due to a slip and fall on someone else’s property, he or she might be entitled to monetary compensation based on a theory of premises liability. Injured parties might have claims for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages or other damages. In many premises liability cases, there are a number of people who might have liability.
If the business owner rents the property from someone else, for example, both the business owner and the owner of the property might be liable for injuries to a slip and fall victim. In order to establish the legal responsibility of a business owner, an injured party must demonstrate that the business owner caused the dangerous condition that led to injury, knew of the hazardous condition and failed to reasonably remedy it or violated statutes that would have corrected the condition.
People are expected to be aware of obvious, avoidable dangers, and to avoid being injured by them. The injured party might have claims for damages though, even if he or she was partially at fault. Typically, in places that allow this sort of recovery, an injured party might win an award for damages but the award will be reduced to reflect the injured party’s partial culpability.
In a case where a person has suffered an injury while on the property of another, an attorney might be able to help the injured party secure compensation. An attorney might examine the facts of the case, conduct witness interviews, gather documentary evidence or otherwise prepare a premises liability claim for litigation. An attorney with experience in personal injury law might draft and file a complaint for damages or negotiate a settlement with insurance companies or at-fault parties.