Premises Liability Can Happen In Any St. Petersburg Home
Michael Babboni
Premises Liability
Premises liability is the legal mechanism that states a property owner must exercise reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of visitors. While many people rightfully assume that commercial spaces like shopping malls or even amusement parks in Florida have to do this, this also applies to homeowners. It doesn’t matter that your home is not a business; if a homeowner isn’t careful and an injury victimizes a visitor, the homeowner is legally accountable for that injury and can be sued for premises liability.But what kinds of accidents would qualify as this for homeowners?
Dog Bites
Some dog breeds are naturally more aggressive than others, such as pit bulls. If a homeowner knows that a dog is aggressive but does nothing to restrain it when visitors arrive and a visitor is attacked and bitten, that’s an act of negligence. In this case, it can be proven that a homeowner knew a dog was likely to attack people but did not think to prevent this from happening, and an easily preventable dog bite occurred.
This type of premises liability also applies to strangers legally required to enter private property for professional reasons, such as when postal workers deliver mail. Any postal worker bitten by an unrestrained dog has the legal right to go to court.
Drowning
Florida’s mild, year-round weather makes the state a perfect place to build a permanent backyard swimming pool. As a result, pool parties are common here, which can be family events. However, children, especially toddlers who can’t yet swim, are particularly at risk.
Unfortunately, children drowning in swimming pools due to a lack of supervision is a common tragedy in America in general and Florida in particular. It is the responsibility of adults to supervise children in swimming pools, and it is the legal responsibility of a swimming pool owner to enforce this safety measure. If a child drowns in a home pool, that is the fault of the pool owner.
Slip & Falls
As with commercial or industrial properties, the slip and falls are one of the most common ways for people to be injured at another location. This can occur in a variety of ways. Once again, at swimming pools, people slipping and falling on wet tiles can be the homeowner’s responsibility.
The same is true for tripping or losing balance. Uneven stairs, for example, should normally be repaired and leveled. If a homeowner decides not to do this, and someone falls down a flight of stairs due to some being crooked and uneven, that’s a clear-cut case of premises liability since repairs could be easily affected, but the homeowner knew the risks and chose to ignore them.
Slips and falls can occur just about anywhere in a home and are not confined to the indoor area. Even the walkways leading to a house and any steps to the front door would all fall under the responsibility and care of the homeowner.
If you or someone you know has been injured due to someone else’s negligence, talk to a premises liability lawyer and find out how to make sure the people responsible are held accountable.