Louisiana Premises Liability Injury Attorneys

No matter what jurisdiction you live in, property owners have a lawful duty to keep their buildings and land reasonably safe to prevent harm to others. They must also provide warnings about any potentially hazardous conditions in specific situations. This is because people can suffer serious injury or even wrongful death when property owners don’t fix faulty, risky, or dangerous conditions. You need the guidance of a Baton Rouge premises liability lawyer when you get hurt by a property owner’s negligence.

The legal team at Joubert Law Firm has extensive experience handling premises liability cases and holding property owners accountable for the damage and injury they cause. Please contact our Baton Rouge personal injury attorneys for a free consultation if you are hurt on another person’s property. 

What is Premises Liability?

Property owners have a duty of care to ensure their environment is safe for others. The owner’s duty of care includes warning visitors of unreasonable harm. Premises liability falls under personal injury law and allows the injured person to seek compensation for damages they sustained due to negligent or reckless conditions on another person’s property. Landowners, property owners, property managers, and even the government may be the negligent party in these types of claims.

Defining Premises

So what are “premises?” By definition, all areas of a person’s land, facilities, other buildings, or improvements are premises. A lawn, sidewalk, or inside a building may also be part of the premises, as can homes, businesses, boats, porches, and swimming pools. It’s important that you know whether you were legitimately and legally on someone else’s premises to evaluate whether you have a valid premises liability claim.

You may receive your injury while on private property that is available for public use, such as a movie theater, stadium, grocery store, or amusement park. These cases may involve claims against the property owner, the tenant that owns the business, or a maintenance company.

Louisiana Premises Liability Law

What was your reason for being on the property? This is another critical factor in establishing a Baton Rouge premises liability claim. A person’s status as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser plays a role in Louisiana premises law. As such, the property owner’s legal obligations to you may differ depending on why you were there.

Invitee

Invitees are individuals who have the owner’s permission, either expressed or implied, to be on the property. This includes friends, neighbors, relatives, and people serving a mutually beneficial business purpose.

In most cases, the property owner is only responsible for issues they knew or should have known existed. Invitees may also hold a property owner at fault for issues they are presumed to know. This is whether they are aware of the problem or not.

Licensee

A licensee is someone on a property with the owner or occupier’s permission for a non-commercial reason. They are on the property for their own purposes. Business customers and hospital patients fit this category.

Trespasser

A trespasser does not have an owner’s consent to be on their property. The owner has a limited duty of care to trespassers and doesn’t have a legal obligation to keep them safe. Instead, an owner must only ensure the absence of intentional misconduct or extreme negligence. Children are an exception if they gain access to the property due to poor security practices.

In Louisiana, premises liability is a complex facet of personal injury law, and multiple factors determine the legal duty owed to you. An experienced personal injury lawyer at Joubert Law Firm can help assess your rights and the property owner’s duty of care to you.

Examples of Premises Liability Cases

A premises liability claim typically arises after a person gets injured on someone’s property because of an existing unsafe situation. Examples of these types of situations include:

Slip and Fall Accidents

People slip and fall due to hazardous conditions such as broken or uneven flooring, a spill on a floor, or faulty stair railings. This type of accident may happen anywhere, including parking garages, hotels, grocery stores, or restaurants. At Joubert Law Firm, our liability attorneys are familiar with all the legal components of a slip and fall lawsuit and can help ensure you receive just compensation for the injuries you suffered.

Dog or Animal Attacks

Dog bites sometimes fall under premises liability law. If a tenant owns a dangerous animal and the property owner is aware and does nothing, they may be legally responsible for any harm done to a victim.

Avoiding responsibility for dangerous animals is why many landlords and property owners restrict certain breeds and sizes of dogs when renting to residents.

Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

Persons exposed to toxic chemicals such as pesticides, asbestos, mold, and others can sue property owners for their damages. For example, if the owner disregarded standard safety practices for storing chemicals, they may be liable for another’s injuries.

Electrical Accidents

It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure a reasonable level of safety for their patrons and guests. As such, any exposed or faulty wiring may expose a property owner to liability for any injury or death.

Additional examples of premises liability claims include falling debris, amusement park accidents, swimming pool accidents, property fires due to an existing dangerous condition, elevator or escalator accidents, oilfield accidents, or boating and maritime accidents.

Common Premises Liability Injuries

Injuries can happen on both commercial and residential properties. When property owners fail to maintain their property in a reasonably safe manner, they may be held liable for a range of premises liability injuries. Among the most common premises liability injuries are:

• Broken bones
• Burns
• Catastrophic injury
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Electrical shock
• Head injury (including traumatic brain injury)
• Loss of limb
• Neck injury
• Paralysis
• Spinal cord injury
• Wrongful death

What Do You Have to Prove in a Premises Liability Claim?

To have a successful premises liability lawsuit, you must prove all the following factors:

• The defendant had control of the property, either by owning, leasing or occupying it.
• A duty of care was owed to you by the defendant.
• Reasonable actions were not taken by the defendant to remedy property dangers they knew about or should have known about.
• This negligence caused your injury.
• You suffered damages as a result of your injury.

A Baton Rouge premises liability lawyer at Joubert Law Firm helps you recoup financial compensation for the injuries and expenses you suffered. Your attorney will handle the legal details of your case so you can focus on healing and moving forward.

An Exception to Premises Liability: Open and Obvious Hazards

Unless the hazard was open and obvious, the property owner might not be liable. This is a defense that the Louisiana Supreme Court has recognized in many premises liability cases.

When a hazard is open and obvious, this means the average person should have been able to notice and avoid it reasonably, so an injured person cannot sue a property owner for their harm. However, all people are different and have different abilities and limitations. For example, a person may have impaired vision which makes it difficult to see a hazard or other limitations that prevent them from noticing something that is obvious to someone else.

If this applies to you, please contact a Baton Rouge, LA premises liability lawyer for help fighting against an open and obvious defense. Just because someone has different or limited capabilities does not mean they don’t deserve compensation for the damage caused to them.

Compensation Available for Injury Victims

You may be eligible for compensation for the following when you are hurt on another person’s property:

• Hospital or medical expenses
• Rehabilitative therapy
• Lost wages and reduced future earning ability
• Pain and suffering
• Cost of future medical treatments
• Emotional suffering

What is the Time Limit on Premises Liability Claims in Louisiana?

According to Louisiana law, you have one year to file a premises liability claim in Louisiana. The time limit begins the day your injury occurred or the day you became aware of your injury.

One year is not a significant amount of time when it comes to gathering evidence, establishing liability, and dealing with insurance companies. Contact a personal injury lawyer at Joubert Law Firm right away to discuss any injuries that occurred on someone else’s property. Our accident attorneys will discuss your legal options and provide you with top-notch legal representation.

Call a Baton Rouge Premises Liability Lawyer For Legal Advice Today

After a slip and fall accident or other accidents and injuries caused by hazardous property conditions, the last thing you need is the headache of dealing with insurance companies and the many complexities of a premises liability claim. Our Baton Rouge liability lawyers know premises liability law and can help you recover compensation from the at-fault party.

At Joubert Law Firm, we offer a free case review to go over the facts of your injury claim and devise the best path to a successful outcome. Our compassionate legal professionals are standing by to take your case. Please call (225) 777-8853 or complete our contact form to get to work on your premises liability case today.

As a thank you to all military members and veterans and to show our appreciation for your sacrifice and service, we would like to offer a discount for your legal cases.