Dade City Premises Liability Lawyer

Types of Property Visitors in Dade City

Florida recognizes three types of property visitors, each with their own levels of protection under the law:

• Invitees – An invitee is someone who enters a property with the intent to either do business or at the invitation of the owner. This invitation can either be implied or explicit, but owners owe the highest level of care to invitees. An example would be you entering a store. You are considered an invitee of the store owner, but they are responsible for your safety while you are there.
• Licensees – Licensees are people that enter and stay on a property for the owner’s convenience or to advance their interests, with that individual’s permission and consent. Licensees are afforded the second-highest standard of care, and typically include social guests like friends or family members and include events like birthday parties or other social events.
• Trespassers – Not surprisingly, the lowest standard of care is reserved for trespassers, or someone who is illegally on another person’s property. However, there is a “discovered trespasser’s rule,” where landowner still must exercise reasonable care for the trespasser’s safety if they know that a trespasser is in fact on the property. Even though a trespasser is illegally on the property, the owner has a limited duty to prevent reckless or intentional injury.

What complicates matters is when these categories shift. Depending on where and when an accident occurs, a person may have entered the property as an invitee, but gone somewhere they shouldn’t have and are hurt as a result. At that point, they are considered a trespasser. Instances are rare, but figuring out where an accident can occur can go a long way to proving-or disproving-a premises liability case in Dade City.

Where Can Premises Liability Accidents Happen in Dade City?

Because of the wide variety of potential accidents that can occur, there are also a wide range of potential locations where an accident that leads to a premises liability claim can occur. In short, a premises liability claim can happen virtually anywhere, but here are some of the more common locations:

These steps will allow you to take stock of any injuries, as well as getting the process started for determining liability. While there are steps in place to make that happen, our team of experienced Dade City premises liability lawyers are experts in finding at-fault parties.

How do I prove a premises liability case in Dade City?

When injured on another property, your compensation and potential recovery hinges on proving the following in a premises liability claim:

• The person or company that owns, occupies, or leases the property is responsible for your injury – Determining who owns, occupies, or leases the property can sometimes be complicated, but needs to be established to confirm liability.
• The owner was negligent in their operation or upkeep of the property – After figuring out who owns the property, you’ll have to then show that they failed in their duty of care to keep the property safe, and that failure led to your injury.
• You were injured – Any premises liability claim requires you to show that you were, in fact, injured. This will be fairly easy to do, but make sure to keep track of your medical expenses and documents that show the impact of your injury.
• The owner’s negligence was a significant factor in causing your injury – The last hurdle is shown that the owner’s negligence was foreseeable enough to have been a significant factor in causing your injury. This means that negligence does not have to be the sole cause of your injury, but it must materially contribute to it.

Schedule Your Dade City Premises Liability Consultation

The Dade City premises liability lawyers at Robert Sparks Attorneys know how difficult and frustrating an injury can be. When you’re hurt because of someone else’s negligence, it can throw your whole world into turmoil. Medical bills, treatment, rehabilitation, and missing work are all potential consequences of an injury. When this happens to you, make sure our team of dedicated and experienced Dade City premises liability lawyers is on your side. We can help you hold the at-fault parties accountable for your injuries, allowing you to get the compensation you need to aid you in your recovery. 

To learn more, contact us today for a free consultation.