Florida Premises Liability Lawyers

What to Do If You Are Hurt on Someone Else’s Property in Tampa, Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, or Crestview

Every time we visit a private home or public establishment, we trust that the property owner will make a reasonable effort to keep us safe from harm. Unfortunately, that trust is sometimes violated, and we suffer an injury. Often, these injuries are the result of unsafe conditions that could have been avoided.

What Is Premises Liability in Florida?

When you are injured on another person’s property, you may have what is known as a premises liability case. If the property owner knew of or should have known of the dangerous condition but failed to take the necessary steps to protect you from being harmed, you may be able to pursue legal action.

Contact our Florida premises liability attorneys at Michles & Booth for a free consultation. Call 850-438-4848 or contact us today to get started.

Who Is Liable for Your Injuries?

When injuries and accidents occur due to a property owner’s lack of care, the injured victim can hold the property owner responsible.

An example of such injuries include:

• Slip-and-falls
• Exposure to dangerous conditions
• Dog bites/attacks

Premises liability is an area of personal injury law that encompasses all types of unsafe conditions on a property, from spilled liquids in a grocery store to stairs or balconies that are in disrepair.

What Are Examples of Unsafe Property Conditions?

Owners of businesses, malls, office buildings, grocery stores, and other establishments are under a legal “duty of care” to ensure that their premises are free of hazards to those who enter their property.

Examples of unsafe property conditions include but are not limited to:

• Pooled water/spilled liquids
• Torn or ripped carpeting
• Uneven floors
• Lack of safety railing
• Improper/missing signage
• Defective sidewalks
• Poor or insufficient lighting
• Lack of emergency exit signage
• Building code violations
• Fire hazards
• Dangerous chemicals/substances
• Unrestrained dangerous dogs/animals
• Unsafe stairs
• Improper property maintenance
• Negligent security
• Dangerous swimming pools

Taking the Right Steps After a Property-Related Accident

In this video, Marcus Michles explains how to protect your claim after a property-related accident:

• First of all, report it. Get management from the store involved. Sometimes it’s embarrassing. Sometimes all you want to do is get out of the store and, oftentimes, I’ve talked to people that have no written record or account of what’s happened. First and foremost, get a manager. Give a statement and fill out an accident report. You may not get a copy of it, and you may not, believe it or not, be entitled to a copy of it, but make sure that they prepare one.
• Next, get yourself checked out by a doctor. It's very important of course to take care of yourself physically.
• You should make sure that the property owner or manager is on notice of your fall from a standpoint of whether there are any surveillance cameras. We live in a world now where there are cameras just about everywhere and, in stores particularly, there’s usually cameras filming. Don’t be surprised if that camera loops over itself in 24 or 48 hours, so you have to try to safeguard the video. You need to let the store know that you’re interested in seeing that video so they preserve it.
• Finally, talk to a lawyer who has experience in premises liability law because it’s not quite what you think it is. It's important to keep in mind that, just because you fall, doesn’t mean the store is responsible. They have to have done something negligent or have acted negligently in some way. You bear the burden of proving that they were negligent.

Attractive Nuisances & Premises Liability

Premises liability cases that do not involve slip-and-falls may include “attractive nuisances,” where existing hazardous conditions put people at risk. Attractive nuisances involve property items or conditions that, by their very nature, are likely to attract children or others.

An attractive nuisance can be a swimming pool that is not properly secured, construction equipment left unattended, or an abandoned building without security or safety precautions in place. When children or adults injure themselves as a result of an attractive nuisance, property owners can be held liable even if those injured were trespassing at the time.

Landlord & Tenant Responsibilities

The landlord is responsible for dangerous conditions existing on the premises and is also responsible if he/she exercises control over the operation of the tenant. However, the tenant is responsible for operations conducted on the premises, as well as for dangerous conditions while in possession of the premises.

Here are some areas where a landlord is responsible:

• A landlord has a duty to protect a tenant from reasonably foreseeable criminal conduct. T.W. v. Regal Trace, Ltd., 908 So.2d 499 (Fla. 4thDCA 2005.)
• A landlord can be liable for burns from hot water when the landlord failed to repair the hot water heater. The duty to provide hot water imposed by an ordinance created the duty when breached. Lifter v. Varnado, 480 So.2d 1336 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991).
• A landlord has a duty to deliver the premises in a safe condition and to make repairs of unsafe conditions upon notice of their existence by the tenant. Mansur v. Eubanks, 401 So.2d 1328 (Fla. 1981).

Contact Michles & Booth for Your Free Consultation

At Michles & Booth, our Florida premises liability lawyers and investigators review surveillance and security camera footage, interview eyewitnesses, and collect evidence from the accident scene in order to expose the negligence on the part of business owners, property managers, contractors, and others.

If you or your loved one was injured due to the negligence of a property owner, contact the Florida premises liability attorneys at Michles & Booth. Your initial consultation is entirely free and confidential. These cases are often very complex and require the knowledge and skill of an experienced legal team. Our firm can help you seek fair compensation for your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Have you been injured on someone else's property? Call our office today at 850-438-4848 or contact us online to get started with your free consultation with our premises liability lawyer in Florida.