If you or a loved one, suffered an injury on the property of another, you may be entitled to compensation.  In order to have a claim for premise liability, the injured party would have to show:

1) the defendant owned or controlled the property where the injury occurred,

2) the defendant was negligent in the use or the maintenance of the property,

3) the plaintiff suffered harm, and

4) the defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the harm.   (see CACI 1000).

Landowners and business owners have a duty to exercise reasonable care to ensure the premises is safe.  This means that they must regularly inspect the premises and/or warn the patrons of potential hazards.  If they fail to do this, then they may be held liable for any harm that occurs as a result.  Another way of proving liability is if the landowner had knowledge of the dangerous condition.  Generally, landowners cannot be held liable for dangerous conditions they do not know about.

The property can either be residential or commercial, and essentially the landowner has failed to take the necessary steps to maintain a safe environment.  Premise liability cases can occur in places such as:  parking lots and structures, stores, gas stations, grocery stores, construction sites, swimming pools, apartment complexes, theaters, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and even private residences.