Slips, trips, and falls often happen in a variety of settings. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), falls are one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States. Falls occur at work, at home, or in other public places like stores. Property owners or a designated party are ultimately responsible for the safety of invitees on their property. Let’s look at premises liability in Indiana and see how it impacts personal injury cases. A premises liability in Merrillville attorney from Lerner and Rowe could help with your slip and fall case.
What Is Considered Premises Liability in Merrillville, Indiana?
Premises liability in Merrillville states that a property owner is liable for injuries that happen on their property due to negligence. The property owner or their designated party must take steps to ensure the safety of all invitees on their property. They must inspect the premises for potential hazards and remedy those hazards. Property owners must notify invitees of risks, like using a wet floor warning sign. They have one duty of care, and that is to protect guests.
There is a wide variety of different types of accidents that can happen on public and private property. These can include:
- Falls that happen because of snow and ice (within a specific kind of situation)
- Swimming pool accidents
- Animal bites on a person’s property
- Poor maintenance (an apartment manager failing to fix a broken handrail)
These examples are not the only types of accidents governed by premises liability laws. Let’s say that someone gets salmonella at a restaurant. Premises law could also potentially govern that illness if it turned into a case, especially if a food preparer was cross-contaminating or the owner had let an employee work without a food preparation license.
Some exceptions could prevent a plaintiff from pursuing a case. If someone were on private property without permission and was bitten by a dog, that person was likely trespassing and may not be sued. However, if someone had a dog with a history of aggression and the dog was in the yard near the sidewalk with no fence, the injured party may likely pursue a case.
What Is Proof in a Merrillville Premises Liability Case?
There are four requirements of proof in premises liability law. These include:
- A property owner is required to ensure the safety of the premises for invitees.
- There was a hazard on the property.
- The property owner failed to take action to remedy the hazard or should have known about the hazard.
- The unsafe condition caused the injury.
The plaintiff could have their case reduced by comparative liability. Let’s say that a person slipped and fell on a sidewalk crack. If the injured party were intoxicated, the defense could argue that this contributed to the accident, reducing the injured party’s damages.
Who Can File a Personal Injury Case Under Indiana Premises Liability Law?
There are three categories of individuals who visit the property as guests.
- Invitees are people on the property for business purposes, like guests in the store. Property owners must inspect and look for hazards for these people.
- Licensees are individuals on the property with the owner’s consent, such as the food samplers at a wholesale outlet. They are not outright employees of the store and are not guests.
- Property owners do not have to inspect for hazards; they must remedy them and notify the licensee when the hazard becomes known. Trespassers are people not permitted to enter the property and have no rights under premises liability.
When Does the Property Owner Not Have a Duty of Care?
For premises liability in Merrillville, there are some situations where they don’t have to react to a hazard. If there is a snowstorm and someone gets hurt during a fall, the property owner is not required to perform snow removal. This natural accumulation rule is part of the open and obvious doctrine. If the property owner does something that worsens the snow, like place snow meltdown and the snow becomes ice later, they can become liable for a fall.
Under Indiana Code § 34-31-11-3, property owners are also liable for attractive nuisances. An attractive nuisance could be a fountain without a rail. If a child were to start playing in a fountain and gets injured, the property owner could be liable for not securing it.
Why Consult with a Personal Injury Attorney like Lerner and Rowe?
An experienced Northwest Indiana personal injury lawyer from Lerner and Rowe has the knowledge and skill to bring a case. Premises law has special proof of liability for a claim. The plaintiff must show that they had the right to be on a property and that the defendant did something (or nothing) that led to an injury. There are also special considerations if the personal injury happened on public property, such as a city park. A personal injury lawyer in Merrillville knows how to proceed with a case in these matters.
To schedule a free consultation with a Merrillville premises liability lawyer, call, click, or chat with a Lerner and Rowe client agent 24/7. Our number is 844-977-1900, complete and submit this encrypted online form, or use our convenient online LiveChat feature.