When you’re a visitor on someone else’s property, you expect to be safe on the premises. When you end up suffering from injuries and other damages because of the property owner’s negligence, you might be interested in filing a claim against them for what you’ve endured. Our Arlington, TX premises liability lawyer is here to help you through your claim and get you justice.
At Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, we are experts in premises liability law and know just what to do to build you the strongest case possible. You deserve the best chance at getting a favorable outcome and the compensation that you deserve. That’s why we’re dedicated to our clients and keeping them from settling for less.
Different Classifications of Visitors in Texas
When you’ve been hurt on someone else’s property, you might have grounds for filing a premises liability claim. One of the most important parts of your claim will be determining what status you had as a visitor while you were on the property. In Texas, there are three different types of visitors who are each owed a different level of care depending on their status.
According to Texas premises liability law, these are the three types of visitors and the duties that a property owner owes them when they’re injured on their property:
- Invitee. This type of visitor is owed the most care when they are on the owner’s property because they are there for the benefit of themselves and the owner. Invitees are expressly invited onto or allowed on the premises. Property owners owe them a duty of care because they invited them onto the property, so they must fix all potential hazards, make the visitor aware of them, and even should seek out any hazards that there might be.
- Licensee. These types of visitors are owed slightly less care than an invitee, but they are still owed a duty of care as they are allowed to be on the property for non-commercial reasons. While they weren’t expressly invited onto the premises, they are still allowed to be there. However, the owner doesn’t have to seek out potential hazards to ensure a licensee is safe.
- Trespasser. This type of visitor is not owed the same duty of care as the two other types. These visitors are illegally on the property, which means that they are not owed care by the property owner. Since they don’t have permission to be there, the property owner doesn’t have to make any hazards clear to the trespasser, and if they get hurt on the property, it’s their own fault for being there illegally.
Once your Arlington, TX premises liability attorney determines what type of visitor you were on the property, they can help you with your claim. If you were trespassing, it’s likely that you won’t be able to recover compensation for your damages. If you were an invitee or licensee, though, you can most likely financially recover.
Causes of Premises Liability Accidents in Arlington
Now that you know the different classifications of visitors when you’re on someone else’s property, and what you’re owed in safety depending on those classifications, you should also know the different causes of premises liability accidents as well. These can range from minor to severe and could even result in the death of a visitor. Here are the different causes of premises liability accidents that you might have experienced that warrant you filing a legal claim:
- Slip and Falls. These accidents happen when there is a slippery or dangerous surface that causes a visitor to slip, trip, and fall. Slip and falls can sometimes cause serious injuries, like broken bones or head injuries. Ice, snow, and water are all some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents.
- Insufficient Lighting. When the lighting isn’t bright enough, the bulbs are too dim, or essential lighting has burned out, a visitor could have trouble seeing their way through the premises. This could keep them from identifying hazards, and lead to a fall or walking into an object that could injure them.
- Defective Features. If the carpeting or other flooring is peeling up, it could cause a visitor to fall. Other defective features on the premises, like crumbling walls or falling beams could also prove dangerous on a property.
- Dangerous Stairs, Elevators, or Escalators. Going up floors can be dangerous within itself, when the vehicles that you use to get up to other floors aren’t in the safety condition, you can get into a premises liability accident. When stairs, elevators, and escalators aren’t properly serviced, they can become dangerous and places where visitors get injured.
- Dog Bites. Dog owners are responsible for keeping their dogs away from other people and dogs who they might injure. If you’re injured by a dog that was roaming or on someone else’s property, you could have a premises liability claim.
- Negligent Security. When you’re on a business’s property, there’s potential for criminal activity that could pose a threat to visitors on the premises. When the business owner could have taken measures to protect visitors from criminal activity, and their visitors get injured in a robbery or a similar event, they could have a negligent security claim.
All these situations above could warrant you filing a claim for premises liability. If you don’t see what happened to you mentioned above, then you still might be eligible to file a claim. Our Arlington, TX premises liability lawyer can answer all your questions and help you determine whether or not you have a legal claim against the property owner for their negligence that caused you an injury.
Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm Is Here for You
When you’ve been injured in a premises liability accident, you deserve to recover damages for what you’ve suffered. With the help of an Arlington, TX premises liability attorney, you’ll have a strong claim that helps you get full and fair compensation. At Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, our lawyers are dedicated to getting our clients the justice they deserve.
Sometimes the other parties and their insurance companies will push you to settle for less than you deserve. That’s why having a lawyer is so vital—we’ll ensure you don’t settle for less. Reach out to our office today so we can get started working for you right away.
