In Florida, property owners are tasked with the responsibility to maintain their properties to reduce or eliminate possible threats or injuries to visitors. If you have suffered an injury on another person’s property, you may be entitled to receive compensation and hold the property owner accountable for your injuries. The personal injury attorneys at Warner, Sechrest & Butts are experienced in premises liability laws in Florida, and we will fight to protect your rights during a claim.

Premises Liability In Florida

Each premises liability case is different as the type of injury, type of property, and reason for visiting the property vary. The owner or person responsible for maintaining the property can vary as well. In the state of Florida, people who control a commercial property and residential property owners are not the only people who can be held liable for injuries sustained on a property. Business owners or renters may be liable when an area is unsafe. For example, one company may own a plaza of storefronts, but each individual business renter may be accountable to keep their areas safe and secure. The plaza owner may only be responsible for the common areas. In addition, a maintenance company could be liable if the cause of the injury falls under their jurisdiction or area of responsibility.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors that can determine premises liability in Florida, so if you’ve been injured, it’s best to retain a personal injury lawyer with premises liability experience. The Gainesville attorneys of Warner, Sechrest & Butts will help you determine whether a property owner, store owner, maintenance company or another party is responsible for injuries you sustain through:

There are a lot of reasons that someone may be injured on a piece of property that are not malicious or intentional. Equipment may malfunction, safety features could fail, lighting may not be adequate or a number of other factors could create an unsafe environment for visitors. In some cases, a property owner may only be required to post advisories about potential or existing dangers, but in other instances, property owners are required to fix or remove the hazard.

A premises liability attorney at Warner, Sechrest & Butts is experienced in all types of premises liability, and we can help you determine whether your injury could have been avoided or if one of the mentioned factors resulted in your accident.

Premises Liability: Levels Of Care

Florida property owners may be required to extend different levels of care to visitors or guests.

• Invitees: Invitees are given the highest level of care by property owners. Invitees are people who are invited to enter a property or remain on the property for the commercial or financial benefit of the property owner. A common example of an invitee is a grocery store customer. The customer is invited onto the premises because the store welcomes the public to enter and remain on the property while shopping. The property owner is required to maintain the premises as well as post advisories or warnings for any unsafe conditions. Property owners are also subject to inspections and are responsible for hazards they should have known about.
• Licensees: People who are invited onto a property for non-business related reasons are considered licensees. Licensees can include friends, guests, and family members; and property owners are liable for existing dangers of which they are already aware. Property owners are not usually liable for dangers they do not know about or ones they should have known about.
• Trespassers: Trespassers are people who have entered onto a property without permission or invitation. But even trespassers may be eligible to receive compensation if injured on property that does not have adequate warnings of dangers. While property owners are responsible for a much lower level of care to trespassers, they may not intentionally place hazards on the property to harm trespassers.

Filing A Claim With A Premises Liability Attorney

If you have been injured while on another person’s property, a premises liability lawyer can help you file your claim. It may be challenging to determine who is responsible for the injuries you sustained, and there may be multiple parties to address. The personal injury attorneys at Warner, Sechrest & Butts can collect evidence for your claim, provide you with an estimate of damages related to your accident, negotiate a settlement with the responsible party, and represent you in court if needed.

Our attorneys are experienced in negotiations, settlements, and hearings, so you will always have the best representation Gainesville offers. Contact us today for a free consultation.