The premises liability lawyers at Mansell & Mansell APC help those injured on someone else's property recover the damages they are due.

Premises liability can be an extremely complicated area of law. Premises liability refers to legal liability that arises when someone is injured due to a failure to properly maintain a property, whether residential or commercial. An owner of property may be liable, but a possessor of property may be as well. This means that a person who is renting a home, for instance, may incur liability for an injury caused by negligent maintenance.

Premises liability accidents can occur in many settings. You may be visiting a private home, shopping at the grocery store, taking the escalator at the local mall, attending a sporting event, or playing with your child at a local park. Premises liability injuries are likewise varied. Common property injuries include:

• Slip and fall injuries
• Grocery store negligence
• Construction site injuries
• Animal or dog bite injuries
• Childcare premises negligence
• Some intentional acts of third parties, including criminal activity

Injuries resulting from the negligence of a property owner or occupier are compensable. Have a Los Angeles premises liability attorney assess your case right now, free of charge.

Elements of a Premises Liability Claim

To prove a premises liability claim, a California plaintiff has to satisfy each of the following elements:

• That defendant had a duty of care owed to the plaintiff in respect to the premises.
• That there was a breach of this duty.
• That this breach was the cause of plaintiff's damages.
• That the plaintiff suffered actual damages as a result of the breach.

1. An owner or occupier of land has a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe.

Liability for an on-premises injury requires that there be a duty owed by the owner or occupier to the injured person. Normally, this would be a duty of reasonable care. This means the level of care a reasonably prudent person would extend under similar circumstances. An owner or occupier of land is expected to conform to this level of care in his or her management of the property to avoid injury to third parties.

Foreseeability of potential harm is the key factor in determining fault for a premises liability injury.

Circumstances that can contribute to liability include:

1. Dangerous conditions on the premises, such as rotted floorboards or a vicious dog.
2. Awareness of potentially dangerous actions of third parties. This means that if the owner or occupier knows or should know of dangers posed by other people, then they have a responsibility to act reasonably to protect people on their property.

• For example, if you are in a grocery store where food debris such as banana peels end up on the floor, the owner must take reasonable steps to clean the floor on a regular basis so customers aren't injured by a slip and fall accident.
• Additionally, if there is an area of a property that the owner should know is potentially dangerous because of criminal activity, that person may have a duty to add security measures to protect residents or visitors.

2. There must be a breach of the duty owed

In other words, there must have been an act or omission on the part of a defendant that fell below the level that a reasonable person would have acted in a similar situation, causing injury to the plaintiff.

3. The damages and injury must be caused by the defendant's breach, or his or her failure to adequately maintain the property or warn of potential dangers.

Proving causation in a premises liability case is a two-fold task. The plaintiff must show that the breach was a cause in fact as well as the proximate cause of the damages suffered. Cause in fact means that "but for" the defendant’s actions, the damage or injury would not have occurred. Proximate cause acts as a legal limitation to cause in fact. Establishing causation is a complex aspect of personal injury law that a skilled premises liability attorney can help a client navigate.

4. The injured person in a premises accident must be able to show actual damages.

Establishing damages is essential to any premises liability lawsuit. Examples of this include medical bills, lost wages, and if the conduct that led to the injury was intentional, punitive damages in certain situations. An experienced property accident attorney will help a client explore the full range of damages that he or she may be entitled to.

Premises liability is a broad personal injury area requiring a high level of relevant legal expertise. Los Angeles premises liability lawyer Robert Mansell has over 25 years of experience helping Los Angeles residents seek damages after being injured on someone else's property. For a free assessment of your premises liability claim, call to speak directly with attorney Robert Mansell at (323)800-0000, 24/7.

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