Los Angeles Premises Liability Lawyer
Under California law, a property owner has duty to keep his property reasonably safe, and to warn others of any dangerous condition if such a condition exists. Premises liability cases cover all cases where the owner breaches that duty of care, allowing dangerous conditions to exist on the property, and causing bodily injury to others.
Some common types of injuries in premises liability lawsuits can be due to slip or trip & fall, dog bites, repair men falling off a ladder, exposure to hazardous material, swimming pool drownings, or diving board accidents, fires, inadequate security, & inadequate lighting in common areas. Often such injuries occur due to the negligence of the property owner, either in failing to reasonably maintain or repair the property to eliminate the dangerous condition; or failing to warn of the existence of such dangerous condition.
Based on the above statement of law, cases involving injuries on other people’s property are called premises liability cases. They include slip and falls, dog bites, swimming pool accidents, fires, inadequate security, structure collapse, and many more events that cause injury. Even falling ceiling tiles would be a premises liability case.
Just because a person is injured on someone else’s property does not mean it is the landowners fault. It is a common myth that if you are on someone’s property and are injured in any way, it is the property owner’s fault. This is not true. In order to recover damages, there must be a dangerous condition on the property that the owner either caused or knew about and didn’t repair. It isn’t quite that simple but, but those are the basics. This is one of the reasons you have to pick an attorney experienced in premises liability law if you are injured on someone else’s property.
One of the most important factors regarding premises liability cases is the availability and amount of insurance. After an injury, it is not uncommon for the injured party to be contacted by an insurance agent. This agent will ask for a recorded statement. The recorded statement will then be used against the injured party in court. This is why at Mann & Elias, we recommend that an injured person hire an attorney before speaking to any insurance representative. They may sound like they are trying to help, but they really only want to help their boss. . . the insurance company!
Los Angeles Premise Liability Attorney
If you or someone you know has been injured on someone else’s property, call Mann & Elias at 323-857-9500 or click here for a free case evaluation.
Successful Case Result:
TI v. Doe
TI was a volunteer in a local live theater. While climbing up attached wooden stairs to get to the sound booth, the top rung gave way, causing TI to fall backward approximately 6 feet. TI hired Mann & Elias to see if this was a valid premises liability case. Upon investigation, Mann & Elias determined that other people had complained to theater management that the rung was lose. After proving there was a dangerous condition that management knew about but didn’t repair, Mann & Elias was able to settle the case for the insurance policy limits.