One of the reasons that Texas business owners take out liability insurance is in case a slip-and-fall, dog bite or some other type of injury or incident occurs on their premises. If they didn’t have such coverage in place, a settlement awarded in a victim’s favor could easily bankrupt them.
If you’ve been hurt on someone else’s property in Waco, it’s likely that you wonder if you can hold them accountable for the injuries that you received. While most every property owner has a responsibility to keep their premises safe so that no one gets hurt, whether you can hold them liable if you get hurt depends on what you were doing there in the first place.
Individuals who are customers at a store are generally referred to as “invitees.” Since they’ve been given a figurative invitation to visit the property, there’s an implication that the owner has taken the necessary steps to make it safe for visitors.
A ‘licensee” is someone who visits a property with the consent of an owner for their own purposes. A “social guest” is a person who has been welcomed to visit a property. A “trespasser” is someone who is on the property without permission or invitation. In the case of the latter, there’s no implication that the the owner has made any attempt to make the property safe.
Provided that you were someone who was invited or welcomed to a property, in determining liability, it also matters how the property is generally utilized. If visitors frequent the location, then it’s likely that an insurance adjuster will attempt to to see how foreseeable it was that an accident causing an injury would occur.
If the property owner made an attempt to warn visitors of a potentially hazardous situation or to make repairs, they may be able to avoid being held liable for an injured victim’s medical bills and other costs.
Slip-and-fall and other injury accidents are handled much like car crashes. Filing a lawsuit doesn’t have to be your first course of action, but if the negligent party is unwilling to accept liability for what occurred, pursuing litigation may be necessary. A premises liability attorney can help you recover compensation for injuries caused by others on their property.
Michael Zimmerman
Michael nació en Houston, Texas. Estudió en las universidades de Baylor y Texas State, donde se licenció en Ciencias en 1987. Se especializó en Biología y en Química. Terminó su educación legal en Texas Southern University en 1990, obteniendo un Doctorado en Derecho de la Escuela de Derecho Thurgood Marshall. Fue admitido en el Colegio de Abogados del Estado de Texas en 1990.
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