Facts on Premises Liability

Premises liability is the type of personal injury case that occurs when a person is injured as a result of a hazardous condition on someone else’s property. Being injured on someone’s property does not automatically make them responsible for your injury.

There are many different types of personal injury cases that can be classified as premises liability cases including, but not limited to:

• Dog bites
• Swimming pool accidents
• Slip and fall cases
• Toxic fumes or chemicals
• Fires
• Water leaks
• Inadequate maintenance

State Laws for Premises Liability

Each state has different laws on who may recover damages for a premises liability claim and the conditions that it follows. In the state of Texas, the first thing that must be determined is the injured person’s legal status on the property. Texas recognizes three different classes of people who enter a property.

Three types:

Trespasser- is a person who enters a property with no legal authority.
Licensee- is a person who enters a property with the owner’s permission. Ex. an employee
Invitee- is a person who enters a property with the owner’s consent. The property is normally a business and benefits the person as well as the property owner. An example of an invitee is a customer or a tenant.

Proving Negligence

In order to win a premises liability case, the injured person must be able to prove that the property owner was negligent. They must also show that the owner should have known that the hazardous condition existed and had time to fix it but failed to do. Lastly, the injured person must be able to prove that their own actions did not contribute to their injury and that the hazardous condition was the sole reason for the accident.