Salt Lake City Premises Liability Attorney

Did you know that if you’re injured on someone else’s property, you can sue them for damages? When you enter someone else’s property, they assume a duty of care for your safety. If an unsafe property harms you, they’re responsible because they didn’t maintain it or warn you about the danger.

Our Salt Lake City premises liability lawyers at 1Law can tell you if your injury falls under premises liability law. If it does, they can outline a plan to help you get compensation for your injury and fight on your behalf while you recover.

The Duty of Care in Premises Liability

Proving the breach of a duty of care is a major part of premises liability cases, as with all personal injury cases, so let’s talk about what that is. There are ways that a reasonable person would take care of their property and other people there. They would fix hazards or warn people about the danger to keep them safe.

A reasonable person doesn’t want to see their visitors harmed. So, if you get injured on someone else’s property, and if it was because of a hazard a property owner didn’t tell you about or fix, they are negligent, and you can pursue damages.

Premises liability also applies to places like a friend’s house. Many people are nervous to sue their friends, but really what you’re doing is making a claim against their homeowners insurance. If they do not have insurance, you must speak with a premises liability lawyer to explore your options.

How You Might Share Responsibility

Utah follows a comparative negligence standard under Utah Code § 78B-5-818 for assigning fault in accidents. This means you could share responsibility for the accident and have your compensation reduced or eliminated depending on what happened and how much responsibility you share in the accident.

One way you could share responsibility is if you ignore safety signs or other warnings put up by the property owner about a danger. If you enter a construction zone full of hazard signs, or walk straight through a puddle with a wet floor sign, the court might say you had some responsibility for ignoring it.

The property owner may also have protection if you were trespassing on the property. The duty of care doesn’t extend to uninvited visitors. This is a tricky area of law, though. Have your case reviewed by a premises liability lawyer first so you know you’re in the clear.

What to Do After a Premises Liability Accident

To win your case, you’ll need to show the hazard that harmed you. This can be easier said than done. Once an accident happens, property owners will often fix the problem quickly before someone else gets hurt, but this can also destroy evidence.

If you can, take photos at the scene when you’re injured, or ask a witness to do so. Also, contact the police so they can take down their impressions of the scene. Try to prevent employees or property owners from touching the scene of the accident, unless you or someone else needs immediate medical help.

Once you’ve spoken to the police, get a medical checkup, and then contact a premises liability lawyer in Salt Lake City for further advice. Post nothing about the accident on social media and follow all instructions from your doctor. These steps will protect your claim.

How a Premises Liability Attorney Can Help You

Proving someone else’s liability in a premises liability case is hard without legal assistance. It’s too easy for landlords, managers, and business owners to fix problems before you can gather the evidence you need to prove your claim.

A premises liability lawyer will immediately contact the business to make them preserve evidence of what happened, and may even perform an investigation of the scene themselves. They will also do things for you like:

• Give you legal advice to protect your claim to compensation
• Handle all communication between you and any insurers or other third parties
• Negotiate with insurers to get you the best possible compensation under your circumstances
• Keep you informed of everything that is happening with your case
• Evaluate offers from insurers to see if they are fair or not
• Advise you about whether going to court is in your best interest
• Helping you file a lawsuit if it comes to that
• Handle collecting any settlement or award winnings

As soon as you know you’re injured and have seen a doctor, that’s the time to contact a premises liability attorney about what happened to you.

Speak With a Salt Lake City Premises Liability Attorney

We know what it takes to help our clients when they’ve been victimized in a premises liability accident. Our team at 1Law will help you every step of the way toward recovery, and we’re committed to maximizing your compensation.

If you or someone you know has been hurt on another person’s property or businses, contact our Salt Lake City premises liability attorneys at the number on your screen, or use our free online chat service. 

Don’t suffer for the negligence of other property owners. Seek help now, before it is too late to claim compensation.