Premises Liability Category Archives - Page 8 of 8 - South Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg Published by Miami Accident Attorneys

Slip and Falls Issues in Commercial Leases – Hillstone v. P.F. Chang’s

Published on: October 15, 2014 | by Law Offices of Robert Dixon

Unfortunately, slip and fall accidents happen routinely in Florida and throughout the United States. There are a number of reasons that slip and fall accidents occur, from uneven sidewalks to slippery floors. Generally, it is the responsibility of a landlord to ensure that the premises are in safe condition for visitors. If your slip and fall happens because of a landlord’s negligence, you may be able to take legal action to recover costs associated with your injuries.

In Hillstone Restaurant Group v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, the appellate court addressed a slip and fall case in which the plaintiff fell on a sidewalk near the entrance of a P.F. Chang’s restaurant. The plaintiff alleged that she tripped and fell due to an uneven sidewalk. She later filed a negligence action against the restaurant and the property owner, who had leased the space to the restaurant.

A negligence claim is a legal action that basically alleges the defendant failed to use reasonable care, which is ultimately what led to the plaintiff’s injuries. In other words, negligence is the failure to take proper care in doing something that leads to harm. In order to prevail on a negligence claim, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care and that the defendant breached the duty of care, which directly caused the plaintiff’s injuries or property damage. A plaintiff cannot recover any monetary compensation unless he or she has first established negligence. Continue Reading ›

Premises Liability and Trespassers in Florida

Published on: September 9, 2014 | by Law Offices of Robert Dixon

Are you responsible if someone uninvited and without warning enters your land, and slips and injures himself or herself on your property? Can the trespasser sue you for his or her injuries? What if you are a store owner, and a customer enters an “employee only” area and injures himself or herself there? The answer can vary depending on the specific circumstances of the case.

Under Florida law, business owners have no obligation to warn trespassers of anything other than known, concealed dangers. Given that the standard is so high, it is very difficult for trespassers to recover damages.

Premises liability cases generally hinge on what someone’s status is on another’s property. If you are somewhere where you are not allowed to be, you are a trespasser. This applies to “employee only” zones in places where you have permission to be. In other words, even if you have permission to be in a particular store, that doesn’t mean you have permission to be in every room or area in that store. Thus, your status can change from an invited customer to a trespasser merely by walking from one area (the checkout register) to another that is designated only for employees (the stockroom). Continue Reading ›

In Florida, Comparative Negligence Questions Should be Determined by a Jury

Published on: August 13, 2014 | by Law Offices of Robert Dixon

Under Florida law, property owners may be liable for injuries caused on their premises as a result of defective or faulty property conditions. The law, however, gives property owners a defense for dangerous conditions on the property that are “open and obvious.” This is because if a condition is open and obvious, the tenant or visitor can avoid it and prevent injury to himself or herself.

In Wieder v. King Cole Condominium Association, the plaintiff was walking in a common area of her condominium building when she tripped over an area of the carpet that had buckled. The carpet had just been cleaned by the building’s cleaning staff and was still wet at the time of the accident. As a result of the fall, she sustained injuries to her arm, hand, and neck.

According to the plaintiff, she and other tenants had sent numerous complaints to the condominium’s management alerting them to the potentially dangerous condition of the carpet. Even so, the carpet had not yet been repaired. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the condominium building under the theory of negligence. Negligence occurs when a defendant fails to take reasonable care when doing something that results in an injury to another person. Here, the plaintiff alleged that the condo association had violated its duty to keep the common area safe for tenants. Continue Reading ›

The Notion of Negligent Security in Florida

Published on: July 16, 2014 | by Law Offices of Robert Dixon

Property owners in Florida have a legal obligation to keep people on their land safe. This includes commercial business owners, property managers, and landlords as well as all other types of property owners. When property owners are negligent in providing basic security for the premises, they can be held liable if someone is injured or personal property has been stolen or damaged. The rationale is to prevent foreseeable harm to patrons, customers, or residents on the property.

Negligent security torts typically assign fault to a security provider. Examples of security providers are security guards on a particular site, apartment or condominium doormen, bouncers at a nightclub, and actual property owners. The lawsuit alleges that the security provider failed to do its job by failing to properly secure the premises.

Negligent security cases often arise when someone is mugged, assaulted, sexually assaulted, or otherwise harmed on a property because of insufficient security. In these instances, the victim can sustain serious physical and emotional injuries. Even if the perpetrator of the crime escapes and cannot be held liable, the victim can bring a lawsuit against the property owner if the property owner did not provide basic safety measures that could have prevented the harm. For example, the owner of a nightclub has an obligation to hire sufficient security staff in case a fight breaks out. If the owner fails to do so and someone is injured on the premises, the victim can bring a claim if he or she can show that additional security would have been able to stop the fight and prevent or mitigate the harm. Continue Reading ›