If you have had an accident while you were on property belonging to someone else, you may wonder whether you have a case for premises liability. The answer to that question can be complicated. In California, there are specific premises liability laws that cover cases like this and whether a property owner is liable for an accident. If you have had such an accident, it’s important to visit a lawyer to find out whether you have a case and could possibly receive compensation for your accident.
What Is Property Negligence?
When a property owner is the undisputed owner of the property, they are responsible for their property in many ways. If someone is harmed on that property, whether there is a case or not often comes down to whether the property owner was negligent in the way they used or maintained the property and whether that negligence was instrumental in creating the injury to the plaintiff. There are a lot of different ways that a property owner can be negligent.
If a property owner does not maintain the property to a degree that keeps it from being dangerous to others, they may be judged as being negligent. They may also use it in a way that is dangerous such as leaving dangerous things out where people could come into contact with them. In both of these scenarios, the property owner’s negligence created the right conditions for the accident to happen.
California Premises Liability Law
There are strict premises liability laws in California that determine whether a premises liability case can be brought to court. There are four criteria that the court uses to determine the validity of the case. The first is whether the defendant owns the property, leases it, occupies it, or otherwise controls it. The second is that the defendant showed negligence in using or maintaining the property. The third is that harm was caused to the plaintiff. The fourth is that this harm was significantly created by the negligence of the defendant. When each of these four is true, you are likely to have a case for premises liability.
When you have a good case for this type of liability, the owner or leader of the property can be found liable for the losses that you suffered because of the accident. This can mean being compensated for all of the resulting medical bills as well as other costs and financial effects such as lost wages. There may even be a loss that is non-financial such as pain and suffering and emotional distress.
When you may have a case for premises liability, call us at Mortlock Law Group to talk to someone about your situation. We can tell you whether you have a good case to be brought to court.
