Premises liability cases are an all too common issue that are faced when an invited individual is injured in some way, while on the property of another person. This property can be both private or public and the individual may have been invited there for any number of reasons. When the property is public, that means that it is open without a formal invitation. It may be open for public access all the time or during certain hours of operation. A public place may include a library, park or even a store. Stores open their doors to consumers to come purchase their product and part of their responsibility is that they will offer an area that is safe. They are responsible to keep up with maintenance and make sure that any area that the public has access to will be safe from all reasonable dangers. What is considered reasonable can vary and this will need to be assessed in each case.
One well known store is facing a dispute after a customer states that she suffered injuries while on the premise of Wal-Mart. She was reportedly crossing through the parking lot when she slipped and fell. The plaintiff, a local woman, states that the parking lot was dangerous and unfit to walk on. She believes that the store failed to meet up to their duties to keep the parking lot safe and that it was their lack of action that left her with the injuries. The superstore is claiming that the plaintiff was aware that the conditions were dangerous, as a result of the snot, oil and other factors. They believe that she was responsible to exercise caution when walking across.
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for the hospital costs and the emotional trauma that she faced. In these cases the court will review the details and determine who they believe was responsible for the incident. The store may have not maintained their duties as property owners, or the plaintiff may not have been reasonably cautious when crossing. It will be necessary for both sides to present their case ad in order for compensation to be earned, the store must be shown as negligent. Property owners should not take their responsibility lightly and this includes taking action to look for dangers, fix them or give sufficient warning of them. When they fail to do this, it may be reason for a claim or lawsuit to recover medical costs, lost wages for now and in the future and other pain and suffering that may have occurred. For representation in a slip and fall or other premises liability case, call Cranston & Edwards, PLLC today.