Premises Liability

Premises liability is an area of law that holds property owners or managers legally responsible for accidents that occur on their property due to unsafe conditions. Premises liability laws are complex, so if you have been injured while on someone else’s property, you are encouraged to speak to a lawyer who can help you understand and protect your legal rights.

The property owner or manager is not the insurer of the safety of persons on the premises. The duty of care owed by the owner may vary depending on whether the person injured on the premises was an invitee, guest or trespasser.

In order to bring a successful premises liability lawsuit in Texas, you must be able to prove each of the following six elements:

1. A condition existed on the property owner/manager’s premises that posed an unreasonable risk of harm to a person present on the property.
2. The property owner/manager knew, or should have known in the exercise of ordinary care, that the condition of their premises posed an unreasonable risk of harm.
3. The property owner/manager should have anticipated that a person on the premises would not discover the danger or would fail to protect themselves against it.
4. The property owner/manager was negligent in that they created the condition, knew about the condition and negligently failed to correct it or should have known about the condition.
5. The plaintiff was injured.
6. The condition of the property owner/manager’s premises caused the plaintiff’s injury.

A person creating a condition causing the injury, while acting under direction of the owner or possessor, may also be liable. A property owner is generally liable for dangerous conditions on the property, such as dead trees overhanging a walkway, negligently maintained stores, parking lots, stairways and driveways. If you have a potential premises liability claim, the lawyers at McLarty Pope can help you.

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