Fort Lauderdale, FL Premises Liability Lawyers Helping Injured Clients Recover Compensation
If you suffered serious injuries while visiting someone else’s property in Florida, you may be able to file a premises liability claim against the property owner’s insurance company. This will allow you to get compensation to pay for any expenses you have as a result of the sudden and unexpected accident that left you injured. So, whether you tripped on debris and fell outside of a grocery store or slipped on ice on your neighbor’s front porch, it might count as a premises liability accident that you can recover compensation from.
Of course, premises liability law is not always easy to understand on your own, so you should hire an experienced premises liability lawyer before you make any legal decisions. At Milano Legal Group, PLLC, our lawyers seek to ensure our clients are well informed on the Florida law that applies to the case. We want you to feel comfortable at every step during your legal case, so we encourage you to learn the basics of premises liability law in this state and then contact our Florida law firm at your convenience.
How Can You Prove a Premises Liability Case in Florida?
If you want a chance to seek compensation after you were injured, you will first have to prove that the property owner was to blame in some way for your injury. Your premises liability lawyer will do this for you after taking on your case, but you should know what this process entails before getting started.
- First, it’s important to note that not every injured person can pursue damages from a property owner, as you’d have to prove that all of the following are true regarding your case:
- The property owner had a duty of care to maintain the property, so it remains safe.
The property owner neglected to repair any hazardous issues or warn you about them, breaching the duty of care. - You got injured as a result of the hidden dangers on the property.
- While you may be able to prove that you were injured due to the dangerous conditions of the property, you can only seek compensation if you can also prove that the property owner had a duty of care to you. This means you must fit into one of two categories:
- Invitee: As an invitee, the property owner invited you to visit the property, as your presence there can benefit both you and the owner. In most cases, customers at a grocery store, hotel, or other businesses are considered business invitees, which means the owner of the property has the highest duty of care to you and is expected to fix any potential dangers that could harm you.
- Licensee: If you’re on someone else’s property for a social visit, you’re a licensee. For instance, social guests who go to a friend’s house for dinner or a birthday party are considered licensees. Property owners owe the second highest duty of care to visitors like this, which means they must keep the grounds reasonably clear of dangerous conditions or at least warn visitors that such hazards exist.
Your premises liability attorney will help determine whether you’re considered an invitee or a licensee for the purposes of your claim. If it seems like neither applies since you were not invited by the property owner, you might be considered a trespasser. In that case, you typically cannot recover compensation unless it’s apparent that the property owner tried to injure you on purpose while you were trespassing.
One exception here is when children are hurt on someone’s property. When this happens, the attractive nuisance doctrine may apply, which states that property owners in Florida must ensure the premises is clear of any dangers that could attract and harm children. After all, it’s assumed that certain items are likely to attract and possibly injure children, such as swimming pools, trampolines, and ponds. As a result, homeowners are expected to take measures to prevent children from getting onto the property and getting hurt. If they display negligence on this matter, they could be facing premises liability claims that cite the attractive nuisance doctrine when someone is injured on their property.
A Florida law firm with experience handling premises liability cases can help identify what kind of visitor you were when you were injured. This can determine what obligation the property owner had to you, at which point your liability attorney will work hard to prove negligence so you can pursue compensation. If you want to learn more about how lawyers can assist with your legal options as an injured person, come to Milano Legal Group, PLLC, for a free consultation today.
What Are Some Common Cases for Premises Liability Attorneys to Take On?
Before you choose a law firm to handle your case, make sure the attorneys you’re thinking about hiring have handled a claim like yours. Premises liability cases can vary quite a bit when it comes to the details, such as the obligation the property owner had to the injured party, the nature of the dangerous conditions, and the injuries that occurred. Some of the most common types of premises liability cases that Florida law firms might handle include:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
- Negligent security that led to assault
- Escalator accidents
- Poor lighting
- Dog bites
- Falling objects
- Defective condition of a roadway
These are just some examples of cases that could involve premises liability law when you’ve been injured on another’s property. If you’re curious to see if you have a case against the property owners involved with your injuries, let a skilled premises liability lawyer look at the details of the situation. You can set up a free consultation with our attorneys to get started as soon as possible.
What Damages Can You Seek in a Premises Liability Case?
When a property owner fails to keep visitors safe on the premises, they may be held liable for any expenses the injured party may have since the accident occurred. So, if you’re facing medical bills or property damage as a result of the property owner’s negligence, you should talk to a premises liability lawyer about the compensation you can recover.
The main way you will likely be compensated is through economic damages. To get this kind of compensation, you and your lawyer will gather evidence of all the bills you’re expected to pay after getting injured on another’s property and seeking medical attention. You’ll likely start with your medical expenses since these tend to be among the most expensive of the bills you’re paying after being hurt. If you had to take an ambulance to the hospital, get surgery, or will need long-term rehabilitation to heal your wounds fully, your Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers can help you recover compensation for those medical bills.
If your own property was damaged during the incident, you can request compensation for this, as well. For example, if you drove your car onto another’s property, hit a pothole in the parking lot, and damaged the vehicle, compensation for property damage will pay for the repairs. If your laptop, cell phone, jewelry, clothing, or other valuable items were damaged, you can seek compensation for the cost of repairs and replacements, as well.
Your premises liability lawyer will also work hard to recover compensation for lost wages to make up for the income you were not able to earn when you missed work due to your injuries. Whether you took weeks off work so you could heal after the injury occurred or may never be able to work again after being hurt on another person’s property, you may be entitled to lost wages paid by the at-fault person’s insurance company.
Your attorney can also help you recover non-economic damages, which will ensure that you’re compensated for the humiliation, emotional trauma, and inconvenience of being hurt on someone’s private property. As you might imagine, it’s tough to put a dollar amount on inconvenience or pain and suffering due to an injury on an unsafe property, which is why you should leave this task to experienced premises liability lawyers at Milano Legal Group, PLLC. They will use their legal knowledge to work toward a fair settlement agreement for you, so set up a free case evaluation at our Florida law offices today.
How Can a Premises Liability Attorney Help You?
If you were injured after visiting a property with the owner’s permission, you might be able to get compensation to pay for your medical bills, property damage, lost income, and more. If you talk to a skilled lawyer with experience handling personal injury cases, they can look at the circumstances before letting you know if you have a claim.
As long as it’s clear you were invited to the property, the owner knew a dangerous condition existed, and they did not fulfill their obligation to keep you safe on the premises, you could have a strong claim. At Milano Legal Group, PLLC, our personal injury attorneys have years of experience gathering evidence to prove that property owners did not take reasonable care to protect guests from unsafe conditions and that guests were injured as a result. If you want us to do the same for you, we invite you to come to our law offices for a free consultation.
When you meet with our team, you can expect us to collect evidence, talk to the insurance adjuster, and deal with any insurance disputes that come up as we work on getting a settlement for you. If necessary, we can file a premises liability lawsuit against the at-fault party. As we do all this, you can rest at home with the knowledge that your lawyers are working hard to pursue justice for you after an injury. If you’re interested in getting started, call our Fort Lauderdale law offices today at 855-545-1777 for a free case evaluation with our personal injury lawyers.