Minnesota Premises Liability Lawyer

When you visit a friend, shop for groceries, have your car serviced, or eat at a local restaurant, you probably expect the premises to be safe. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Property owners, landlords, and managers who fail to detect and fix hazardous conditions on their land or buildings or fail to warn visitors of known dangers could be held accountable if someone is injured. If you sustained injuries on someone else’s property, a Minnesota premises liability lawyer could help you understand your compensation options. Our dedicated personal injury attorneys are standing by to help you pursue a favorable outcome.

Examples of Premises Liability Claims

Premises liability claims are based on negligent acts or failures to act on the part of property owners. Property owners owe a certain duty of care to guests, and breaching that duty and causing an accident could leave them liable for injuries that result. Some common premises liability accidents include:

• Slip and falls in grocery stores
• Uneven floors that offer no warning to watch one’s step
• Buckled carpeting that can cause someone to trip
• Buildings in disrepair from failing to change lightbulbs in dark areas, broken handrails or steps, leaky plumbing
• Failure to provide security in areas where criminal activity is known to have happened or more likely to occur, such as mall parking lots at closing
• Attractive nuisances to children that are not secure, such as home swimming pools and hot tubs

Property visitors can be classified as invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Each type of visitor is owed a different duty of care under the law, which a skilled Minnesota premises liability attorney could explain in more detail.

Invitees and Licensees are Protected if They are Injured

Invitees are visitors to a property under the pretext of doing business benefitting the owner. They are owed the highest duty of protection from harm. Invitees include shoppers in retail and grocery stores or restaurant diners. Owners owe invitees a duty to protect them against dangers owners know or should know about.

Licensees visit a property for social reasons, including guests in friends’ homes. Property owners must reasonably divulge to licensees dangers they know about, whether or not they created them. Warnings include a simple ‘watch your step’ but could be more elaborate, such as blocking a slippery area after a pipe bursts. A Minnesota personal injury lawyer attorney could further explain the distinctions between different kinds of visitors and how they pertain to before filing a premises liability lawsuit.

Understanding the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

Property owners to do not have to protect adult trespassers, but they cannot purposefully hurt them. On the other hand, child trespassers are owed a higher level of care. The attractive nuisance doctrine exists to protect children from dangerous conditions that they may not necessarily understand. Attractive nuisances include houses under construction, swimming pools, trampolines, and abandoned items that could trap a child in junkyards. Property owners should erect fencing, lock gates, and post warning signs.

Property owners must safeguard child trespassers under the attractive nuisance doctrine by managing conditions that can entice and harm children. If the owner knows about a condition that could harm children, it must be neutralized.

To prevail in an attractive nuisance lawsuit, a plaintiff must prove a dangerous condition was present on an owner’s land, the owner created or allowed the condition, the owner should have realized children would be attracted to the condition and could be harmed by it. A seasoned Minnesota lawyer could determine if the attractive nuisance doctrine applies to a particular premises liability case.

A Minnesota Premises Liability Attorney Could Fight for You

If you have been injured on someone else’s property, it is important to understand that you have options for legal recourse. A Minnesota premises liability lawyer could help you pursue the compensation you need and deserve. To get started on your case, give us a call at BK Law Group today.