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Seattle Premises Liability Lawyer
Protecting the rights of people injured by dangerous property conditions
Being injured and dealing with medical expenses and time off work isn’t something anyone wants to deal with. It can be even more frustrating when the incident occurred because someone else was negligent and essentially didn’t do what they were supposed to do. If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property and believe it was due to their negligence, you may be able to file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit, depending on the situation.
Our team of lawyers is here to help you discover your options and move forward to get the compensation you deserve. Call Smith McBroom today to schedule a free consultation with a Washington premises liability lawyer.
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What is premises liability?
Premises liability is a legal doctrine that provides that property owners and occupants can be held legally liable for injuries that occur on their property due to unsafe or hazardous circumstances. If someone is hurt due to these hazards, then they may have the right to file an insurance claim or a lawsuit against the owner or the person responsible for taking care of the property.
It applies to private and public locations, such as private residences, businesses, and public properties. Premises liability is based on the idea of a "duty of care" that the property owner or occupier has. This means that they have to take reasonable steps to keep their premises safe for visitors or to warn them of known dangers.
Types of premises liability cases
There are a few distinct types of premises liability claims, but they all center around the same idea that property owners have to exercise reasonable care to make sure their property is safe. Some common ones include:
Slip and falls
Most people are familiar with slip-and-fall claims. Whether you’ve seen advertisements on TV or billboards, you’ve likely heard about this type of claim. In its most basic form, a slip and fall occurs when someone falls on someone else’s property because there were dangerous conditions. This could result from many different situations, including:
- Broken steps
- Unshoveled sidewalks
- Uneven pavement
- Clutter left in the hallway
- Loose handrails
- Freshly mopped floors
- Spilled drinks that are not cleaned up
- Poor lighting in stairways
The possibilities of why someone slipped and fell are potentially endless. The most important point is that it occurs because the property owner was negligent and failed to address or warn visitors about the dangerous condition.
Open and obvious hazards
If a hazard is considered "open and obvious," meaning it was clear to anyone who was paying attention that there was a potential fall hazard, this can significantly impact a person's injury claim.
In general, property owners may not be responsible for injuries caused by dangers that an average person would see and avoid with reasonable care. This isn't to say that the property owner can never be liable if the hazard is open and obvious, but it can certainly make the claims process a lot more challenging.
Dog bite cases
Washington is a strict liability state for dog bites. This means that the dog owner is normally liable if their dog bites a person, even if the dog has never shown any signs of aggression or bitten anyone in the past.
As long as the injured party was legally on the property, they’re often able to collect compensation from the dog owner or sometimes the property owner if it’s a different person, depending on the situation. This includes public and private property.
Swimming pool accidents
Swimming pool accidents can easily lead to serious injuries, especially for children. Property owners and operators, whether individual homeowners, hotels, apartment complexes, or community facilities, have an obligation to keep pools and the surroundings around them in a reasonably safe condition. That entails things like putting up fencing and properly-latching gates, warning about slippery surfaces, and making sure the water is safe.
While property owners generally don’t have a duty to take reasonable care to avoid injuring trespassers, children who are injured in a pool-related accident are treated differently, even if they’re trespassing.
In these cases, Washington law recognizes something called the “attractive nuisance” doctrine. This means that if a property feature like a swimming pool is likely to attract children who don’t fully understand the risks, the property owner is required to take extra steps to protect them, such as installing secure fencing and proper locks.
Negligent security
Negligent security claims are another type of premises liability case that many people don't even know about. These cases arise when someone is injured on another person's property as a result of criminal activity, and the criminal activity was able to occur because a property owner didn’t take reasonable steps to protect visitors from foreseeable harm. This often happens at locations like apartment buildings, hotels, parking lots, and nightclubs.
Examples of negligent security include things like broken locks or gates, insufficient lighting in common areas, lack of security cameras, or not hiring security personnel when it’s clearly needed. If criminal activity has previously occurred in the area or there is some other reason to expect that something dangerous might happen, owners are generally expected to take precautions.
If you’ve been injured in any of these ways, it’s a good idea to reach out to a premises liability lawyer who can help you figure out your next steps and determine if you have a claim.
How do you prove a premises liability claim?
Just asserting that you slipped and fell on someone’s property isn’t enough to establish that you have a premises liability claim. There are a few things that you normally have to prove:
A dangerous condition existed
The first thing to prove is that the premises were in a dangerous state, such as wet floors, damaged railings, unfenced pools, or some other hazard that could cause personal injury to guests.
The property owner knew or should have known about it
You then generally must show that the property owner had actual or constructive notice of the hazard, or that the unsafe condition was reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances. Constructive notice is that they should have known by routine inspections or responding to concerns or complaints.
If there’s evidence the hazard existed for a while, evidence of ignored complaints, video footage, or a lack of inspections, this can all help establish this requirement.
The hazard was not corrected or adequately warned against
You must prove that the property owner did not repair the hazard or did not provide visitors a reasonable warning (for example, not fixing cracked pavement or not putting caution signs) to prevent injury.
The dangerous condition caused your injury
You must clearly link your injury to the accident. If you fell on someone's property, you’ll need to show that it was caused by their negligence and wasn't just a fluke. This could include providing video footage of you slipping on an unshoveled sidewalk or witness testimony by someone who saw the accident occur.
You suffered damages
You’ll also have to show that you suffered damages, financial and sometimes otherwise. This most commonly includes medical expenses, lost wages from time away from work, property damage, and pain and suffering.
If all of these elements are proven, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses. Dog bites are a little different, as you primarily have to show that you were bitten by the dog and that you were legally allowed to be on the property where the bite occurred. There is no requirement to prove negligence.
Do you have a local premises liability attorney at your firm I can speak to?
Smith McBroom has premises liability lawyers who can help you with any type of case. Whether you’ve been bitten by a dog on someone else’s property, assaulted due to negligent security, or experienced a slip and fall, we can help. Our office is located at 16400 Southcenter Parkway, Suite 210, Seattle, Washington 98188. You can call us anytime or reach out online to get started.
Contact Smith McBroom to schedule a free consultation with our premises liability lawyers
If you’ve been injured while on someone else’s property and believe it was due to their negligence, our team is here to help. We have decades of experience helping people just like you. We want to make sure the situation is as stress-free as possible for you and help you recover compensation for your injuries and losses, financially and otherwise. If you have any questions or you’re ready to get started with a case, reach out today to schedule a free case evaluation with a Washington premises liability lawyer.