What Is a Property Owner’s Duty of Care?
In California, every property owner has a duty of care to prevent harm to lawful visitors. Breaching or violating this duty can lead to serious accidents and significant injuries to visitors. Understanding the duty of care that was involved in your specific accident can allow you to build the foundation of a premises liability claim.
Property Owner Obligations in California
Every owner of residential or commercial property in California has a legal obligation to keep their premises in reasonably safe condition to protect visitors from harm caused by dangerous defects or hazards. The rules of premises liability law in Los Angeles hold property owners responsible for injuries caused by unsafe property conditions.
If a reasonably prudent property owner would have done something differently to prevent a visitor’s injury, the defendant involved in a premises liability claim can be found responsible for the incident in question. This is referred to as property owner neglect or negligence.
Duties of Care Change According to Visitor Type
A property owner’s specific duties of care change according to the circumstances. The type of visitor that enters the premises determines what a property owner’s responsibilities are in terms of maintaining a safe place for said visitor.
Three visitor types are acknowledged in premises liability law:
- Invitee: an individual who is expressly or implicitly invited to a premises for the owner’s own benefit, such as a customer at a business. Invitees are owed the highest standard of care; property owners have a duty to inspect for, discover and remedy hazards prior to an invitee entering.
- Licensee: an individual who has permission to enter a premises but does so for their own purposes, such as a social guest. A lesser duty of care is owed; property owners must protect licensees from known dangers, but do not have an obligation to inspect for unknown ones.
- Trespasser: an individual who is not allowed to be on a premises but enters anyway. Besides minors under the age of 18, trespassers are not owed any duties of care by property owners in California other than a duty not to intentionally cause harm.
If you were hurt while on someone else’s property, it is important to recognize what type of visitor you were at the time. This will determine the property owner’s duty of care to you and what actions he or she had a responsibility to take to prevent your accident.
What Happens if a Property Owner Breaches the Duty of Care?
A breach of duty in a premises liability claim refers to a property owner falling short of the standards of care expected of him or her by law. When this happens, a property can develop defects that put visitors at risk.
Examples include:
- Fall accidents from slippery or dangerous floors
- Staircase disasters from faulty stairs or missing handrails
- Elevator and escalator accidents
- Swimming pool drownings from unsafe pools
- Dog attacks from dangerous dogs on the premises
- Injuries from structural collapses
- Illnesses from toxic substances present on the property
- Criminal attacks from negligent property security
- Occupational injuries from dangerous work conditions
If a property-related accident was reasonably foreseeable based on hazardous or dangerous conditions on the property, the owner was responsible for remedying the defects in a timely manner. The failure to do so can serve as grounds for a premises liability claim.
Do You Have a Premises Liability Case Against a Property Owner in California?
As a premises liability accident victim in California, you must prove that the owner or controller of the property owed you a duty of care and breached it by ignoring a property defect. Proving your premises liability case takes compelling evidence, such as an accident report, photographs, video footage, property maintenance records, eyewitness statements and expert testimony.To find out if you have grounds to file a claim in pursuit of financial compensation for your recent property-related injuries, contact a Los Angeles premises liability lawyer near you at Rose, Klein & Marias, LLP for a free consultation.