Top-Rated Premises Liability Lawyers

In order to establish your case, you have to be able to prove the following elements:

• You were on the property of the defendant when the accident happened.
• The accident caused you to sustain an injury.
• The injury resulted in monetary damages.
• The defendant had a duty of care to prevent accidents from occurring on their property.

These elements may seem like they would be easy to prove, but it’s important to remember that the insurance company will have a team of attorneys attempting to cast doubt on your claim. A personal injury lawyer can not only help ensure that your case is viable, but that you get a full payout.

In most cases, if you have permission to be on a premise, the owner or custodian of that property owes you a duty of care. That means that the property is reasonably safe.
Pathways should be clear of obstructions or slippery substances, stored objects should be secure, and pipes and electrical wiring should be away from traffic — or there should be adequate warnings posted. All of this is the responsibility of whichever party is in control of the property. An attorney can run down the information and determine liability for your case.

In the state of Florida, trespassers usually cannot collect damages for an accident occurring on a premise. However, in some cases, children are still able to make claims, particularly if the property or items on the property are considered “attractive nuisances.” These are items that are likely to draw children, regardless of whether they have legal access to them or not.

First and most importantly, seek medical attention promptly—even if your injuries seem minor initially. Some serious conditions, including head injuries and internal bleeding, may not show immediate symptoms but can worsen without treatment. Additionally, medical documentation creates an official record connecting your injuries to the accident, which is valuable evidence for your claim.

Report the incident to the property owner, manager, or supervisor immediately, and ensure they create a written report. Request a copy for your records. While doing this, keep your statements factual and concise—avoid speculating about fault or making statements like “I wasn’t paying attention” that could be used against you later.

Collect evidence at the scene if you’re able, including photographs of the hazardous condition, your injuries, and the surrounding area. Gather contact information from any witnesses who saw the accident or the condition that caused it.

Document everything related to your accident and injuries, including medical bills, treatment records, work absences, and how the injuries affect your daily activities. Contact a premises liability attorney before speaking with insurance adjusters, as their questions are often designed to minimize your claim.

Remember that anything you say to the property owner’s insurance company may be used to reduce or deny your compensation.

The value of premises liability cases varies significantly based on multiple factors, making it impossible to provide an accurate estimate without evaluating your specific situation. Key factors affecting case value include the severity and permanence of your injuries, the clarity of liability (how obviously the property owner was negligent), your pre-accident health and income, and the available insurance coverage or assets of the responsible party.

Economic damages like medical bills and lost wages provide a foundation for valuation, but significant value often comes from non-economic damages like pain and suffering, which are more subjective. Cases involving temporary injuries with complete recovery typically have lower values than those involving permanent disability, disfigurement, or chronic pain.

In order to receive compensation for your injuries…
Your attorney will have to establish the following:

• Your presence at the premises was legal.
• The custodian of the premise had a duty of care for your safety.
• There was an accident.
• The accident caused your injury.
• Your injury resulted in monetary damages.

Yes, you can pursue a premises liability claim if you were injured on a friend or family member’s property, and doing so typically does not create personal financial hardship for them. These claims are generally filed against their homeowner’s insurance policy rather than against the individual directly. Insurance companies collect premiums specifically to cover these situations, and utilizing this coverage is simply accessing a benefit that has already been paid for.

We understand the sensitivity of these situations and approach them diplomatically. We can often resolve these claims directly with the insurance company while maintaining positive relationships between all parties. Many clients are surprised to learn that their friends or family members are supportive of the claim once they understand it’s primarily an insurance matter.

Our attorneys can help explain the process to all involved parties and ensure that everyone understands the claim targets the insurance coverage rather than personal assets.

Florida’s modified comparative negligence system allows you to recover damages as long as you are not more than 50% responsible for your accident, though your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were looking at your phone while walking through a store and tripped on a clearly visible torn carpet, the jury might find you 40% responsible and the property owner 60% responsible. In this scenario, if your total damages were $100,000, you would receive $60,000.

This system makes it particularly important to have skilled legal representation, as property owners and their insurers will attempt to maximize your percentage of fault to reduce their financial liability. Our attorneys counter these efforts by gathering evidence that highlights the property owner’s primary responsibility, such as showing that the hazard existed for an unreasonable length of time, violated safety codes, or that similar incidents had occurred previously.

In Florida, the statute of limitations for most premises liability claims is two years from the date of the accident. This means you must file a lawsuit within this timeframe or lose your right to pursue compensation regardless of how strong your case may be. However, several exceptions may shorten or extend this period depending on your specific circumstances.

If your claim involves a government entity—such as a slip and fall on city property or in a public building—you must file a notice of claim within three years and observe a six-month waiting period before filing a lawsuit, effectively shortening your time to take legal action.

On the other hand, if the injured person is a minor or was mentally incapacitated at the time of the accident, the statute of limitations may be tolled (paused) until they reach majority or regain capacity. Given these variables, we recommend consulting with an attorney as soon as possible after any premises-related injury to ensure you don’t inadvertently forfeit your right to compensation by missing critical deadlines.

We establish negligence by showing the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to address it. Evidence may include maintenance records, surveillance footage, witness statements, expert testimony, and documentation of similar incidents on the property.

Claims against government entities have special requirements and shorter deadlines. You typically have two years to file a claim, and there may be caps on damages. It’s crucial to consult an attorney promptly if your injury occurred on government property.

Commercial property owners owe the highest duty of care to visitors because they expressly invite the public onto their property for business purposes. They must regularly inspect for hazards, promptly fix dangerous conditions, and warn about temporary hazards. Private homeowners have a somewhat lower standard of care for social guests, primarily being required to warn about or fix known dangers that aren’t obvious.

These different standards affect how cases are proven. Commercial property claims often focus on inadequate inspection and maintenance protocols, while residential claims typically center on whether the homeowner knew about the specific hazard and failed to address it. Commercial entities generally carry larger insurance policies with higher coverage limits than homeowners, potentially affecting available compensation.

Commercial properties must comply with more extensive safety regulations, building codes, and accessibility requirements than private homes. Violations of these standards can strengthen premises liability claims against businesses. Additionally, commercial claims often involve multiple potentially liable parties—property owners, tenants, management companies, and maintenance contractors—while residential claims typically involve just the homeowner and their insurance company.

Property owners have a duty to regularly inspect their premises and address known hazards. Even if they claim they were unaware of a specific condition, we may be able to prove that they should have known about it through reasonable inspection practices.