Premises Liability Covers A Lot Of Ground
Michael Babboni
Premises Liability
For better or for worse, when it comes to car accidents and the injuries incurred, there’s a certain kind of brutal simplicity at work. Vehicles in motion impact with other vehicles or objects on or off-road, and the injuries are assessed, the fault is assigned, and, if there’s any dispute, it gets settled in a court of law. With a vehicular accident, you don’t have to be an experienced lawyer for a car crash to understand the consequences of the injury or understand that one or the other driver is likely responsible in some way, and has to own up to that fault.However, when you move things beyond the sphere of one car impacting another, and take it to the everyday world of shopping malls, amusement parks and even the homes of friends, neighbors, and relatives, things become more complex. When an accident happens, there are many more ways, and many more factors to take into consideration. And that’s why legal disputes that fall under this category are much more complex.
A Broad Category
The formal legal definition for accidents that need legal resolution in another person’s property is called “premises liability.” As you might imagine from the words themselves, this simply means that the fault for an incident lies with whoever owns the property, or premises. Where the big difference lies between car accidents and premises liability is the sheer scale of different things that can happen and how they can happen.
With a car accident, for example, one of the most common causes of an accident is the loss of control. That cause may have its roots in drunken driving, distracted driving, sheer carelessness, or even vehicular failure, but the accident itself usually happens because one vehicle or another behave or go where it is supposed to.
With premises liability, things can go wrong in many different ways. One of the most prominent—though far from only—forms of accidents is people slipping and falling, leading to injury. But of course, people can be injured in different properties in many different ways, depending on the type of property and the activities that take place there.
Amusement Park Accidents
Florida is blessed with great weather, which makes this state a perfect site for many outdoor tourist attractions. That’s why larger commercial sites such as the Disney resort, and smaller sites such as numerous state fairs provide a range of rides and other amusements for families to enjoy.
The attractions on these rides are complex machines, and, unfortunately, not everything always goes according to plan. Sometimes rides may not have the proper maintenance or inspection, and what starts as a harmless diversion results in injury or even death.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Both public pools and private pools in a residence have the same legal responsibility for owners; ensuring that people who use the pool are afforded the best possible safety. In a public situation, this usually means that lifeguards or some other trained staff is keeping watch over the swimmers.
In a private residence, this responsibility falls squarely on the homeowner. Sadly, a lack of supervision in residential swimming pools is the #1 cause of children drowning in America. Because of the assumed safety of a home, many parents often don’t feel the need to keep watch over children who are in a pool and this false sense of security can lead to children submerging themselves and drowning before they can get help. Even something as innocuous as slippery tile can lead to someone slipping, falling and injuring themselves, which a homeowner may be legally responsible for.
Dog Attacks
The dog is one of the favorite pets in America, but it’s important to remember that a dog, however domesticated it may appear to be, is an animal. All animals have their very own instinctual line of reasoning, and what to you might be a simple, non-hostile interaction, a dog could take as a threat. Many dogs have a great ability to defend themselves when they feel they are threatened.
For people who are attacked by a dog, things can get very complex. An owner, of course, has a legal responsibility—especially on his or her own property—to ensure that visitors are safe from dog attacks. If a particular breed, such as pit bulls, for example, is known to be especially aggressive or easily provoked, a dog owner must take appropriate measures, or face the legal consequences for being careless with a potentially dangerous animal. But it can often be difficult to piece together the exact sequence events for how an animal attack occurred, especially if there were children involved.
We’re Here For You
We are experienced personal injury lawyers in St. Petersburg that run the full legal spectrum of different injuries. If you need help trying to sort out what your legal options are after being injured by someone else’s negligence, come to us. We can provide the guidance you need.