Property owners and managers are legally responsible for keeping the area safe for those they invite to the premises. When they fail to meet these obligations, civil laws allow those who sustain injuries to seek legal action against them.
With the help of a trusted personal injury attorney, you could be eligible for compensation when you experience injuries because of a careless property owner or manager. Call a Woodbridge premises liability lawyer from our firm today to learn more.
Common Premises Liability Cases
Some of the common accidents that lead to civil action include the following:
- Inadequate security
- Dog bites or attacks
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Swimming pool accidents
- Amusement park accidents
- Elevator and escalator accidents
After reviewing the case specifics, a Woodbridge Township premises liability attorney can answer specific questions about recoverable damages. Additionally, more than one person may be at fault for your event. Our team can help you discover who is liable for your injuries and collect the evidence needed to prove fault.
Recoverable Damages in Premises Liability Claims
The term damages refers to compensation the court awards to an injured person to reimburse them for their accident-related losses. These can include both economic and non-economic forms of harm. Some of the potential recoverable damages in premises liability cases include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish
- Lost enjoyment of life
- Medicine and medical devices
- Current and ongoing medical care
- Lost salary, benefits, and future earning potential
A Premises liability lawyer in Woodbridge can work with you to determine the full scope of how your injuries affect your daily life. With this information, we can craft a settlement demand that adequately reflects your needs or review an offer to determine whether it is realistic and fair.
Premises Liability Laws and the Three Types of Visitors
State laws require landowners, managers, and possessors to keep their land safe for visitors they invite for business or personal reasons. The civil court could hold them financially accountable when guests sustain damages because of a property defect or hazard. According to the New Jersey Statutes Annotated § 59:4-2, an injured person’s case must show the court that the defendant’s negligence caused them to suffer injuries. The case must also establish the type of visitor they were when they entered the premises. The three types of visitors include:
Invitees
Invitees enter a property upon the landowners’ request, and it typically involves business purposes, such as a customer at a grocery store. Because the business owner benefits financially from the invitee entering the property, they owe them the highest duty of care and legal obligation to keep the area safe and hazard-free.
Licensees
Licensees are a group of people who enter a property for social or personal reasons, such as dinner guests. The land possessor owes this group the second highest duty of care.
Trespassers
Trespassers do not have permission to enter the property, and the owner does not owe them a legal obligation to keep the grounds safe for them. However, they cannot purposely create a hazardous condition to cause them to sustain injuries or harm. Further, if the property has an item that attracts children, such as a swimming pool, they must ensure the grounds are secure, or the court could hold them financially responsible even when the children are trespassers under the attractive nuisance doctrine.
Meet With a Qualified Premises Liability Attorney in Woodbridge Today
Premises liability laws could entitle you to a settlement when you sustain injuries on a negligent landowner’s property. However, these civil actions are complex and usually present many challenges to overcome in order to prove liability.
Many people choose to reach out to a seasoned Woodbridge premises liability lawyer to help navigate this complicated process. Call Fredson Statmore Bitterman, LLC today to schedule a free consultation.
