Galveston Commercial Property Liability Lawyer

When you visit an antique shop in the Strand Historic District, keep an appointment at the University of Texas Medical Branch, or head for a Galveston Island restaurant for seafood, by law you are an invitee, meaning a visitor to commercial property where the owner stands to profit. That owner owes you the highest duty of care, which means you are entitled to feel secure that any known dangers have been handled or you have been warned about them. The owner must inspect the property to ferret out unknown dangers, so you are not harmed.

Sometimes, commercial owners are not diligent, and because of their lax attitude, you are injured on their property. You have legal rights to recover compensation for your losses if you are hospitalized because of an accident at a store or because you were harmed in a negligent security incident. Talk to a Galveston commercial property liability lawyer to explore your rights.

Commercial Property Trespassers

Trespassers enter property uninvited and have no right to be there, like an adult loitering and drinking outside a convenience store, and if that person trips on an uneven curb, the owner is probably not responsible because their only duty to adult trespassers is not to purposely harm them.

Commercial property owners owe child trespassers a duty under Texas’s Attractive Nuisance Doctrine, which explains that children are not yet fully aware of dangers and may be attracted to artificially constructed enticements that appear fun, like playgrounds and public swimming pools. Property owners must use reasonable measures to restrict children’s access, including gates and fencing.

Invitees Differ from Licensees

While invitees visiting property for mutual benefit with an owner are owed the highest duty of care, social visitors, known as licensees, are owed a duty too. Commercial owners must repair and warn about dangers they know about, such as dimly lit stairwells that could cause a licensee visiting a friend at an apartment building to fall. They may benefit from calling a commercial property liability lawyer in Galveston.

Commercial Owners and Negligence

Visitors injured on commercial property must prove the owner or landlord was negligent and caused their injuries. Owners have various duties to visitors, and they breach those duties if they fail to act like a reasonable person in similar circumstances and cause an accident in which the plaintiff is injured. Common commercial property liability negligence claims include:

• Tripping over debris scattered in an office building stairwell and falling down a flight of stairs
• Slipping on spilled liquid that was not removed for hours in a grocery store
• Getting mugged after a night club owner fails to install a security system, lighting, or security guards in the parking
• Failing to warn parents about age and size limitations for children on an amusement park ride, leading to an accident

A Galveston attorney studies a person’s commercial property injury case to determine how much compensation a person injured by an owner or landlord’s negligence deserves for medical bills, lost wages, emotional trauma, and pain and suffering.

Call us and Discuss How a Galveston Commercial Property Liability Attorney Can Help

Most commercial landlords and owners know the value of keeping their property safe for visitors. Sometimes, you will run across one that would rather save money in the short term than worry about visitors’ safety. If you are injured, our personal injury lawyers could help.

A Galveston commercial property liability lawyer gathers and studies the facts, hospital and police records, and witness statements to understand your claim and aggressively seek compensation. When someone else’s negligence puts you in a position in which your health, finances, and emotional wellbeing are compromised, we are ready to fight for you.