Premises Liability for Property Owners

A property owner has a certain responsibility, known in legal terms as duty of care, to maintain reasonable safety standards on his or her property.

Whether the property owner lives on the property, rents it out or uses it for business, the duty of care isthe same: to prevent foreseeable harm to tenants and visitors.

If an injured person decides to pursue legal action against the property owner, foreseeability can be one of the key factors in determining if the claim is valid.

Property Owner Negligence

Landlords and property owners can’t reasonably be expected to know about every issue of structures and grounds. In fact, property owners often have to rely on their tenants to report safety hazards and other issues. Homeowners and business owners, while they spend more time on their property, may also be unaware of every potential hazard.

However, property owners still have a legal obligation to ensure their properties are safe places for people to live, work or visit.

A property ownercould be negligent in this duty if he or she knows, or should have known, of some condition or defect in existence that could foreseeably cause an injury. This can include conditions such as:

• Uneven flooring
• Broken or missing handrails on stairs
• Inadequate lighting in common areas such as corridors or parking areas
• Toxic mold
• Faulty wiring

Any condition that a reasonable person would see as a hazard (or as something that could cause another person harm)could showthat the property owner wasn’t ensuring that his or her property was safe. However, no two cases are the same, and there’s no way to predict how a judge or jury will rule if you end up bringing a case to court.

Negligence and Causation in Premises Liability

If someone is injured on private property,the injured party must be able to demonstrate that the unsafe condition actually caused his or her injuries.

Here’s an example: A tenant successfully navigates the four icy steps leading to her apartment. She then slams her fingers in the door after entering the hallway, breaking two bones. While a dangerous condition and an injury are both present, one did not cause the other.

Slamming her fingers in the door is likely not the landlord’s fault, and she may not have a premises liability case. However, if the tenant slammed her fingers in the door because she tripped over a hole in her concrete porch, which the landlord was aware of but refused to repair, she could have a premises liability case. Personal injury law is generally complicated and, in most cases, it’s best to talk to an attorney who understands it before making any type of claim.