All property owners and managers who allow people inside their properties need to maintain their spaces in a manner that is appropriate and safe. If a business or apartment complex has unsafe spaces, people can easily get hurt.
When it is clear that better maintenance or signage might have prevented someone’s injury, the person who gets hurt could have a strong premises liability claim against the owner or manager of the place where they get hurt.
Premises liability is the term for the risk a company incurs when members of the public get hurt in their space. There are three places at a business where premises liability is often higher than in other locations.
In the parking lot
The most obvious risk in a parking lot is that you can get struck by someone else’s vehicle. They can hit your body and cause you serious injuries or just damage your vehicle. However, the risk doesn’t end there. Spilled fluids from vehicles and precipitation due to weather can make parking lot surfaces slippery and lead to people falling.
Parking lots are also a place where visitors to a business could easily become victims of crime. Particularly in parking facilities without visible cameras, without motion-activated lights at night and without other obvious signs of security, visitors will have an increased risk of becoming the victim of criminal activity.
On the stairs
Any building with stairwells has plenty of risk for visitors and occupants alike. Issues ranging from peeling floors to loose grab bars could lead to severe injuries or even someone dying because they fell. Building owners and property managers should make sure that stairways remain safe with adequate lighting, proper handrails and frequent inspections followed by necessary maintenance and cleaning.
Right at the entrance
The space where people come in and out of a business sees heavy traffic. Dirt and precipitation from people’s clothing can accumulate at the entrance, contributing to the risk of someone falling. People near the entrance of a business could also get hurt if there is a shoplifting or other theft-related event occurring. Either the thief or store employees pursuing that individual could cause injury to a visitor by the entrance.
Recognizing when a business may have premises liability for your injuries can help you take action by filing an insurance claim or even a civil injury lawsuit if you get hurt on someone else’s property.
