Sustaining an injury on someone’s property can occur for a variety of reasons. If you were injured recently on another’s property because of problems beyond your control, contact a Monroe premises liability lawyer as soon as possible. You should not have to pay for medical expenses and deal with missed time from work because of the property owner’s negligence or carelessness. An experienced personal injury attorney like George W. Ganim, Jr. can listen to your story to determine whether the property owner can be held liable and, if so, what damages you may be entitled to.
Property Owners and the Duty of Care
Property owners owe everyone who lawfully enters their grounds a duty of care, meaning the premises must be free of all safety hazards. Any hazards that are present on the property require clear signage warning the dangers. Invited guests, such as friends and family members, are among those owed duty of care, as are individuals known as licensees. Licensees include service technicians, mail carriers and salespersons who are implicitly allowed on a property.
The only individuals who are not owed duty of care are trespassers or people who enter properties illegally. Although the owner must still make a trespasser aware of any property hazards, they are otherwise not responsible for any injuries that occur. However, the trespasser law is different when it comes to children. Young children often enter properties unlawfully because of attractive nuisances such as unfenced swimming pools, and are not at fault for injuries they sustain because of their age and lack of experience.
To prove a property owner was negligent by not exercising the required duty of care, a Monroe dangerous property lawyer must show that its client was injured explicitly because of that negligence. For example, if an HVAC technician slips and falls on icy stairs that were not salted or marked as unsafe, the technician could file a lawsuit against the property owner for negligence in violating the duty of care owed to the HVAC technician.
Common Examples of Dangerous Property Conditions
Attorney Ganim represents injured individuals in a wide variety of unsafe premises cases, including those related to:
- Missing or broken railings
- Stairways with a lack of proper lighting
- Uneven or broken stairs
- Slippery ground snow/ice
- Buildings with toxic mold
- Dangerous walkways
- Dog bites or attacks
These and other hazardous property conditions require legal action if they resulted in injuries.
Modified Comparative Negligence in Premises Liability Cases
Connecticut follows modified comparative negligence rules that allow you to collect damages providing you are not more than 50% responsible for your own injuries. If you are assigned a percentage of the blame for the accident, your final damages award will be reduced by that percentage. For example: if you were texting on your phone and tripped over a piece of broken concrete on a neighbor’s driveway, a jury might assign you 10 percent of the blame for your injuries and you can only recover 90 percent of the damages you are awarded.
Modified comparative negligence rules do not apply to dog bite cases in Connecticut, as the state follows strict liability laws according to Connecticut General Statutes 435 § 22-357. While some states use the “one bite rule” to partially protect the owners of dogs who were not known dangers, Connecticut’s strict liability rules make canine owners liable regardless of their pets’ histories. A local premises liability attorney can help you recover compensation if you were attacked by someone’s dog, providing you did not provoke the animal.
Speak with a Monroe Premises Liability Attorney
Contact Attorney George W. Ganim, Jr. today to discuss your case with a reputable Monroe premises liability lawyer. He will work tirelessly to help you recover all the damages you are entitled to so that you can move on with your life and not have to worry about the unfortunate financial difficulties caused by the incident. Call now to for a free consultation.