Have you been hurt on someone else’s property after encountering unmarked and unsafe conditions? The experience of dealing with an injury caused by a lack of safety on either public or private property can be stressful, not to mention overwhelming and complicated.
However, you’re not alone—a premises liability lawyer in Warrensburg can help you figure out how to proceed. At Foster Wallace Personal Injury Lawyers, we have more than 45 years of combined experience.
Together, our attorneys have recovered over $1 billion in compensation for our clients. You can trust us to represent you as your Warrensburg personal injury lawyer. With us by your side, you can expect to be informed and feel supported during every step of the legal process.
What Premises Liability Covers
Premises liability encompasses a wide variety of situations where an injury results from unsafe or hazardous conditions. These can arise on both private and public property.
These are examples of cases that often involve premises liability claims:
- Slip and fall accidents: This is a very common cause of premises liability claims. Slips, trips, and falls occur when property owners fail to address wet floors, uneven surfaces, cluttered spaces, poor lighting, or inadequate maintenance.
- Inadequate security: Injuries resulting from criminal acts—such as assault or robbery—can lead to premises liability claims if it can be shown that the property owner failed to provide reasonable security measures.
- Defective or dangerous structures: Broken stairs, unstable railings, cracked flooring, and other structural defects can cause injuries.
- Falling objects or debris: Injuries from falling merchandise, construction materials, or natural debris such as tree branches.
- Swimming pool accidents: Drownings or injuries related to unsafe pool conditions—or even a lack of proper fencing—can yield a premises liability claim.
- Elevator and escalator accidents: Malfunctions or maintenance issues can also lead to injuries.
Premises liability law aims to hold both property owners and occupiers accountable for maintaining a safe environment. That said, the level of responsibility that each party shares will vary based on the legal classification of the visitor and the jurisdiction.
The sooner you contact Warrensburg premises liability lawyers, the sooner your legal counsel can start looking at the details of your case and exploring potentially liable parties.
Classification of Visitors and Duty of Care
Under Missouri state laws, the duty that a property owner owes to someone who is on their premises will largely depend on the visitor’s legal status at the time of the incident.
Here are the three main categories of visitors as recognized by local laws:
- Invitees: This includes who enter the property for a purpose connected to the owner’s business or interests, such as customers at a store. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care, meaning the property owner is required to actively inspect and maintain the premises. They must warn invitees of any known dangers as well.
- Licensees: This includes people who step foot on property with permission for their own purposes, like social guests at a party. Property owners must warn licensees of known dangers, but they are not required to inspect the property for unknown hazards.
- Trespassers: These are people who enter the property without permission or legal rights. Property owners generally owe little or no duty to trespassers, though some exceptions apply, such as attractive nuisance doctrines involving children.
The classification of a visitor will affect whether or not the property owner can be held liable in the event of an injury. It also influences how much effort the property owner would have been expected to put into preventing harm to said visitor.
Your Warrensburg premises liability attorneys can look into the details of your case and determine which classification applies to you at the time of the event that injured you. The sooner you contact a lawyer, the more time they will have to make a determination.
Contact our Kansas city personal injury lawyers now.
The Details Behind Premises Liability Laws in Missouri
Missouri follows the visitor classification approach and applies comparative fault principles to premises liability cases. Here are legal points that your Warrensburg premises liability lawyers will likely address as part of your case:
- Duty of care: Owners and occupiers alike must exercise reasonable care based on the visitor’s classification. For invitees, the highest duty applies.
- Comparative fault: Missouri adheres to a modified comparative fault system. As a result, if the injured party is found to be 50% at fault or more, they cannot legally recover any damages. Now, if they are less than 50% responsible for the situation, the amount they can receive will be reduced by their percentage of fault.
- Statute of limitations: Personal injury claims must be filed within five years of the date of the event that caused your injuries.
- Notice of hazard: To hold a property owner liable, your premises liability lawyers in Warrensburg must show that they are either known or should have known about the dangerous condition. From there, your attorney also has to prove that the property owner failed to fix the issue or warn visitors about its existence.
- Recreational use statute: Missouri grants a certain level of immunity to landowners who allow recreational use of their property without charging a fee, which may lower or limit their level of liability.
It’s important to contact a Warrensburg premises liability attorney as soon as possible. That way, your lawyer can look at the specifics of your situation and advise you as to how you should proceed in your case.
Call Our Warrensburg Premises Liability Law Firm As Soon As Possible For Legal Advice and Representation
If you or a loved one was hurt as a result of unsafe conditions on another person’s property, you don’t have to face the aftermath all alone. This type of experience can be a lot to handle by yourself, but that’s where Warrensburg premises liability attorneys come into play.
When you reach out to Foster Wallace Personal Injury Lawyers, you can trust that our premises liability lawyers in Warrensburg can handle your case and protect your rights every step of the way. You deserve fair compensation, and we can help you pursue exactly that.
Don’t wait to reach out to us as soon as possible—we’re here for you. Once you contact our premises liability law firm in Warrensburg, we can start building a case and holding those responsible for your injuries accountable for the actions or lack thereof.
