Property Owner Negligence in Premises Liability Cases

Property owners in California have a legal responsibility to keep their properties safe and reasonably free from hazards. If an owner fails to meet this duty of care, a visitor could suffer a serious injury in a property-related accident. Proving property owner negligence is the core principle in most premises liability cases.

What Is Property Owner Negligence?

Negligence is a key concept in personal injury law. It describes a lack of proper care, or someone’s failure to meet the correct standards of care based on the situation. In a Los Angeles premises liability case, negligence specifically refers to a property owner failing to use, maintain or control a premises in a safe manner.

The Four Elements of Property Owner Negligence

To prove property owner negligence in a premises liability case and recover financial compensation, an injured victim (known as the plaintiff) must provide evidence of four key legal elements:

1. The owner of the property owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. 
2. The owner breached the duty of care by failing to ensure a reasonably safe premises.
3. The owner’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s injuries or losses.
4. The plaintiff suffered real, compensable losses because of the accident.

A landowner’s duty of care exists as long as a visitor is lawfully on a property in California. Property owner negligence can refer to inadequate premises maintenance or upkeep, the failure to inspect a property for new or hidden hazards, ignoring obvious defects, or failing to warn visitors of potential health hazards.

What Is Notice in a Premises Liability Case?

The main issue involved in a premises liability claim is whether or not a property owner knew or reasonably should have known about the dangerous defect that caused the victim’s injury. There must be proof that the owner had notice of the hazard. This can refer to:

• Actual notice: the owner actually knew about the hazard, or
  
• Constructive notice: the hazard was obvious enough or existed long enough that the owner reasonably should have known about it.

If notice is proven, the next step is to show that the property owner did not act in a reasonable manner to remedy the hazard or warn guests of the danger it posed. This is proof of property owner negligence.

Common Examples of Property Owner Negligence in California

Negligence by a property owner can take many forms, from failing to clean up a spill and causing a slip and fall accident to inadequate security that opens the door to criminal activity. Other examples include ignoring a broken staircase railing, failing to cover a swimming pool, harboring a dangerous dog on the premises without taking proper precautions, failing to repair a cracked or broken sidewalk, and failing to protect visitors from toxic exposure.

How to Prove Property Owner Negligence in a Premises Liability Case

If you get hurt on someone else’s property in Los Angeles, you will need evidence to support your injury claim against the owner or controller of the property. The burden of proof is “based on a preponderance of the evidence,” meaning true with at least a 51 percent certainty.

Common types of evidence are:

• An accident report or prior complaints
• Photos of the property hazard or dangerous conditions
• Security footage of the incident
• Eyewitness statements
• Property maintenance records
• Expert testimony
• Medical records and hospital bills

A property owner is not automatically held liable for an accident that occurs on his or her premises. There must be evidence proving the required elements. Hiring the right premises liability attorney to file a personal injury lawsuit in LA can make it easier to gather evidence and prove property owner negligence in your case.