Missouri Slip & Fall Injury Attorneys
Unsafe property conditions are among the most common causes of preventable injuries in Missouri. You expect to be safe when you are a customer at a business whether it is a restaurant, department store, mall, grocery store, hotel, amusement park or any other place of business. You also expect to be safe when you are at another person's apartment or home. However, sometimes injuries on another person's property occur due to unsafe property, causing bodily injury and often costly medical bills, missed work, pain and suffering and other hardships. Premises liability cases arise when you have been injured on someone else's property due to a dangerous or unsafe condition.
Property owners are required to keep their premises reasonably safe for the public. Private entities, such as business owners and landlords are required to keep their property safe from dangerous conditions. Public entities, such as cities, are required to keep public streets and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition as well. Some common examples of premises liability cases include: water or some other liquid on the floor (often referred to as slip and fall cases); hazards that are either hidden or not clearly marked, elevator accidents, escalator accidents, missing or defective equipment such as smoke detectors, missing or broken stair rails, uneven sidewalks, injuries from amusement park rides, unmarked steps, uneven or otherwise dangerous steps, defects in flooring or uneven carpeting or other flooring, ice on parking lots and injuries or death caused by swimming pools or ponds. This list is not exhaustive and premises liability cases can arise from many other causes as well. An experienced Columbia, Missouri, attorney can advise you on whether your case falls under the category of premises liability.
Under premises liability law, a property owner's duty to keep his or her property safe from dangerous conditions depends on your status while you are on the property. Property owners owe "invitees" the highest standard of care. "Invitees" include those who are invited onto the property of another for the commercial or business benefit of the property owner. This invitation can be either express or implied. Property owners owe a different standard of care to "licensees", or, those people on the property for any purpose other than a commercial or business purpose (this category would include a social guest). Generally, property owners owe licensees a duty to warn or remove certain non obvious dangers on their property. In most cases involving licensees the property owner must have actual knowledge of the dangerous condition. Finally, property owners owe a lesser duty to warn of or repair dangerous property to trespassers, or, those who have no right to be on the property. However, trespassers may recover damages from a property owner under certain limited circumstances.
Premises liability cases are complex and the facts are rarely the same in any two cases. It is important to contact an experienced Columbia, Missouri lawyer to review your premises liability case. If you are injured on someone else's property because of a dangerous or unsafe condition, Allen & Nelson, P.C. in Columbia, Missouri, has the skill and experience necessary to protect your rights.