Rockville Maryland Premises Liability Attorneys

Property owners are responsible for your safety

Not all accidents happen at home. Each day, accidents occur when people visit unfamiliar places or environments. Business and property owners understand that people naturally tend to avoid places which they perceive as unsafe, so they strive to design and maintain environments which will appear safe and inviting.. Unfortunately, the more comfortable someone may feel while visiting the premises of another, the less likely they are to anticipate and avoid prospective or existing hazards.

The dedicated premises liability attorneys at the law firm of Karp, Wigodsky, Norwind, Kudel & Gold, P.A. are committed to helping those who have been injured on another person’s property, receive the compensation needed. Whether you have tripped on broken piece of pavement, been bitten by a dog at a neighbor’s home, or even assaulted at a hotel or sporting event, the owner or party responsible for managing that property, could be held liable for the resulting injuries if they failed to take adequate measures to prevent the accident. This area of the law is called “premises liability”, and we have helped countless area clients earn compensation for the damages that they have sustained as the result of such injuries.

What exactly is “premises liability”?

Premises liability, in a legal sense, begins with the duty of a property owner, manager or supervisor to prevent people from being injured while on that property. The extent of the owner’s duty is dependent upon whether the property is public property or private property, and upon the visitor’s purpose for entering the property. Owners of public property generally have a greater duty to their visitors than do private property owners, and people visiting a property for business purposes generally enjoy more protection than do people making social calls. But, even a trespasser is entitled to a certain amount of protection from injury.

Because of these possible variables, a wide variety of accidents and injuries can fall under the heading of premises liability, including:

• Slip-and-fall injuries caused by conditions ranging from a spilled liquid on a tile floor of a grocery store to cracked pavement or an icy sidewalk
• Injuries caused by the failure of various devices or equipment, such as escalators, elevators, smoke detectors, or even amusement park rides
• Injuries resulting from violent crimes such as robbery, assault, or rape which could have prevented by adequate security precautions or hiring practices
• Dog bites and swimming pool accidents, including drowning, are two types of injuries for which a residential property owner may be found liable

The common denominator in all such injuries is that each was reasonably foreseeable, and the property owner or manager failed to take action adequate to prevent an accident from occurring.

When can I hold a property owner or manager liable for my injury?

Again—duty and liability are determined by multiple factors. Individuals entering a store are owed a greater duty by the store owner or manager than a private homeowner owes a visitor. However, the essential formula to keep in mind is:

• A property owner owes a duty to visitors to take reasonable precautions to prevent foreseeable accidents. That duty can include monitoring the property for dangerous conditions, warning visitors of any danger, and eliminating the hazard by repairing, removing or cleaning it.
• That duty is breached; a grocery store has a duty to monitor the aisles for spilled liquids, posting warnings when the spill occurs (such as posting a yellow warning sign) and cleaning up the spill.
• A reasonably foreseeable accident occurs;
• The accident causes an injury.

The classic example of this formula is that of spilled liquid. Because it is reasonably foreseeable that liquid can be readily spilled onto the tile floor of a grocery store or restaurant, and because it is reasonably foreseeable that such as spill can create a slippery floor surface and cause an unsuspecting visitor to slip and fall, and because it is reasonably foreseeable that slipping and falling on a hard surface can cause an injury, such business establishments have duty to continually monitor their premises for spilled liquid. Then must warn visitors of a spill when it occurs, and to completely clean up the spill. When they fail in this duty, they become liable for the injuries they cause.

Talk to a knowledgeable Maryland premises liability attorney today for free

At the law firm of Karp, Wigodsky, Norwind, Kudel & Gold, P.A., we have five offices in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. area. If you have been injured outside of your home and believe your injury could have been avoided had the property owner or manager taken adequate preventative steps, call our office today. One of our skilled Maryland premises liability attorney is ready to talk to you. Contact  us today at (800) 229-7026, or online to learn more about your rights and the compensation to which you may be entitled. The initial consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win.