When you slip and fall at the store, trip at a restaurant, or hurt yourself while visiting the movie theater in Hollywood, you may have legal rights to pursue action against the property owner. Premises liability law in Florida imposes legal obligations and duties on certain property owners.
For Hollywood residents, it is essential to understand the basics of how premises liability claims work for slip and fall cases.
Your Legal Status on the Property Matters
Not all property owners will need to pay you compensation if you are hurt on their premises. Depending on how you were hurt and why you were on their property, the owner may not need to pay you any compensation at all.
In premises liability law, your legal relationship to the property plays an immense role in determining the rights you have and the property owner’s liability. Owners owe the greatest legal duties to invitees, while trespassers are owed very few legal obligations. Take a closer look at how this concept works.
Invitees
An invitee is someone who the property owner invites onto the property in order to conduct business or for another reason that benefits the property owner.
For example, you are an invitee of the grocery store if you visit the store during its normal business hours to shop. By opening its doors and advertising goods for sale, the store has invited you onto its property.
For invitees, the property owner has an obligation to make regular and reasonable inspections of their property and look for hazards that could hurt you or cause a slip and fall. If the owner identifies any such danger, they must then take reasonable steps to either promptly correct the situation or warn you about the danger.
Licensees
You are considered to be a licensee if you are on another’s property with their permission but for your own benefit. For example, suppose that your neighbor allows you to walk across their yard because it offers easier access to the beach. Any time you use your neighbor’s yard on your way to or from the beach, you are acting as a licensee.
In the case of licensees, the property owner’s legal obligations are not as extensive as they would be for invitees. Instead, the property owner must identify any dangers that may not be obvious that they know or should know about. They must then either fix those dangers or take steps to warn you of them.
For example, if your neighbor’s property has a large hole in the yard that is covered by brush or grass, the neighbor should post a sign or tape off the area to warn you of danger.
Trespassers
People who come onto a person’s property without that owner’s permission are considered trespassers. Property owners have no duty to warn trespassers of any dangers or take steps to make their properties safe for them.
The only obligation owners have in Florida is to not deliberately injure trespassers by setting a trap or creating a hazard designed to harm them.
There are some unique circumstances where an owner may have greater legal obligations to a trespasser. For instance, an owner who maintains an “attractive nuisance” like a pool on their property must take additional steps to keep children from accessing the pool without permission.
Owners Must Take Reasonable Steps
Suppose that it appears a property owner violated their legal duties in a slip and fall case. The owner will not have to pay compensation to you if that owner took reasonable measures to meet their legal duties.
What is considered reasonable depends on the resources of the property owner, the nature of the hazard, the length of time between its discovery and your accident, and other similar factors.
For this reason, when you are hurt in a slip and fall incident, it is important to note or document as many details about the scene as possible. A store that did not clean up a large puddle on the floor during normal business hours is in a different legal position than a private property owner who posted a sign near a hole in their yard.
Knowing these details helps your Hollywood slip and fall lawyer provide more accurate advice about your rights.
Filing a Claim for a Slip and Fall Accident in Hollywood
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident in Hollywood, a personal injury lawyer can determine whether you have a valid claim for compensation and file the claim on your behalf.
At Schrier Law Group, we can work quickly to analyze your situation and guide you on the best path forward. We can fight tirelessly for the compensation you deserve. Contact us to schedule a consultation with an experienced slip and fall lawyer today.
