Under premises liability, the owner of the property is required to ensure that their property is safe enough for anyone who will be setting foot within the premises. Once a person has been injured or wrongfully killed because the premises was unsafe, then a wrongful death for premises liability can be established. Under the law of Florida, an owner must warn any visitors of potential dangers and fix any hazards that are within their property.
While property owners can be sued on the basis of a premises liability, every guest that enters their property is owed a different type of care depending on which category they fall under. Nevertheless, owners should make sure that their properties are well kept. The Orlando wrongful death attorneys that are experienced with premises liability help the families of the victims who were wrongfully killed because of the negligent owner who failed to ensure safe conditions.
A premises liability case can happen in numerous places like in malls, swimming pools, elevators, and more. The firm will help their clients create the proper claim for premises liability. No person should die because of the negligent acts of another. Every individual, including property owners, have a certain duty of care for everyone around them. When this duty is violated, accidents can happen which can lead to death.
What Category Do Guests Fall Under?
Depending on which category a guest falls under, a different level of care must be provided by the owner. Here are the three different types of categories for guests:
- Invitees: Invitees are those people that bring a commercial gain to the property owner. They are invited by the property owner for their own benefits. Examples of invitees would be customers. Customers are the ones who bring the property owner their revenue by purchasing different types of goods. The highest level of care must be given to invitees. Inspections, warning signs, and adequate security must be provided to invitees. If a property owner does not supply an invitee with the highest level of care, the owner could be found liable if the invitee gets injured or is wrongfully killed.
- Licensees: The way licensees differ from invitees is that licensees are either friend, family members, or other social guests that the property owner has invited for non-business purposes. For licensees, the same amount of duty is not required, but the owner still has to fix any known dangers that their property has., whereas with invitees they must not only fix known hazards but hazards that they should have known about.
- Trespassers: Trespassers are people who enter the property without permission like a robber. With trespassers, the property owner is not required to give the same level of care as they would with invitees and licensees. However, the owner cannot intentionally place hazardous objects or traps for trespassers.
Different Premises Liability Where Wrongful Death Can Occur
Percy Martinez Law Firm handles multiple different premises liability claims. Some of those include:
Lack of Security: If a person is killed because there was a lack of security, a premises liability claim can be filed as well as a wrongful death. The property owner is required to have adequate security where crimes are most likely to happen. Some examples of areas where security might be required are parking lots and hotels.
Elevators: If a person who is on an elevator dies following an elevator malfunction, not only can the family member sue the manufacturing company, but they can also sue for premises liability. Owners must ensure that everything with their property is safe and in good condition.
Amusement parks: Orlando is a place full of popular amusement parks like Disney, Universal Studios, and the Animal Kingdom. Every year, thousands and thousands of people visit these touristic places to have a good time. Many things could go wrong in an amusement park like slipping and falling, ride malfunction, crimes, and more. If a person dies by any of these factors, the owner could be held responsible. A waiver does not free property owners of responsibilities.
Shopping Centers: Shopping centers have different types of businesses like retail, restaurants, salons, and more. A guest can slip and fall, become a victim of crime, have a merchandise fall on them, among other things. A person who suffers a death by any of these factors can have their family members sue for wrongful death and premises liability. Shopping centers require adequate security and maintenance to ensure that no one who visits the center gets injured.
Construction sites: When a location is under construction, the construction workers have to make sure that they are doing their job efficiently. Along with properly doing their jobs, they have to be careful not to drop any materials while they are working. A pedestrian could be walking by and suddenly something falls on top of them, killing the pedestrian. Warning signs have to be displayed and preventative measures should be enforced.
Statistics Concerning Premises Liability
- Premises liability is the personal injury claims that are seen the most
- Slip and falls are the most frequent reasons for premises liability cases
- Premises liability accounts for one in every 10 lawsuits
- 11,908 cases of premises liability were present in 2001; 452 were for wrongful death
- In 2006, slip and falls in private workplaces took the life of 789 people
- In 2006, construction side accidents took the life of 1,239 people
Case Settlements for Premises Liability
Negligent carpet store
In 2012, a 28-year-old woman was shopping in a mall at a remnant carpet store. As she was walking a rack containing hundreds of pounds of rolls, the wooden rack that was supporting it just collapsed. This resulted in her death by being buried under all of these carpets. She suffocated. A $1.2 million settlement was given to the woman’s personal representative.
Elevator Accident
A fatal elevator accident occurred in 2010. A 5-year old girl was killed after being crushed to death. She was trapped between the sliding gate and the hinged floor of the elevator. The elevator did not sense her still there and started to move as another person was calling it from a lower floor. $1.27 million was the settlement amount.
Dog Bite
In 2014, the dog of a neighbor bite an 8-year old’s face. The girl suffered permanent scarring on her face. The case was settled with the property owner’s insurance for $40,000.
Wrongful Death Lawyers in Orlando for Premises Liability
A premises liability case can occur in many different locations. Property owners must provide a certain duty of care to their guests and customers. When a property owner does not have proper security, the maintenance, surveillance, among other things, they can be found liable for the resulting consequences like wrongful death. Percy Martinez Law Firm and his partners never hesitate to take on wrongful death cases involving premises liability. The families of the deceased are entitled to be compensated by the negligent acts of the property owner. The firm always gives every potential client a free consultation in order to determine how strong of a case the plaintiff has.