Premises Liability Attorneys

If you have suffered injuries as a result of a property owner or tenant’s failure to take reasonable steps to protect persons entering or using property in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas or Mississippi from harm, then you may be entitled to recover damages for your injuries and other losses you suffer under a legal cause of action known as premises liability. Most people are familiar with the scenario in which someone walks into a store, slips on a freshly mopped floor and breaks his or her tailbone or when someone trips over a crack in the sidewalk, falls and breaks a bone. These are both known as slip and fall claims. However, contrary to popular belief, slip and fall accidents are just one type of premises liability claim. There are many other scenarios in which an individual may become injured as a result of the property owner’s failure to take reasonable measures to protect those who may use or enter upon that property. Examples can also include a negligent security claim, in which a person is not adequately protected from harm by a business if, for example, the business is a bar and does not have any security personnel patrolling its parking lot late at night and a bar patron is robbed and injured in the process.

The Definition of Premises Liability in Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi

Premises liability is a legal claim against the owner or operator of a property for their actions or inactions in protecting entrants upon that property from harm. The nature of the duty that the property owner owes to entrants upon the land depends on whether the owner or operator is a business or a private landowner or tenant. Generally under the laws of every state property owners are required to keep their property in reasonably safe condition for guests or visitors and to take steps to remedy any dangerous conditions. In order to prove a premises liability claim, a victim must prove three elements. First, the victim must prove that the owner of the property on which the victim was injured owed a duty to the victim to protect the victim from harm. Second, the victim must show the property owner or operator did not maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition or failed to protect the victim from harm. Finally, the victim must demonstrate that he or she was injured because the business or property owner did not utilize reasonable care in maintaining his or her property in a reasonably safe condition.

Damages Available in a Premises Liability Claim for Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi

In a premises liability claim, you can recover damages for the medical bills (past and future) associated with any treatment you receive as a result of your injuries, any pain and suffering those injuries may cause you (past and future), and any lost wages or income you may have suffered or will suffer in the future. In certain states, the damages you can recover for pain and suffering may be capped. Whereas in Florida and Arkansas, there are no caps on pain and suffering, Tennessee is capped at $750,000 for most personal injuries and $1,000,000 for catastrophic injuries, while Mississippi is limited to $1,000,000 in premises liability cases. In addition to the elements of damages that an injured party is entitled to recover, his or her spouse and children generally can also recover damages for any lost support or services they suffer due these injuries.

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