Portland Premises Liability Lawyers
Premises liability is the field of personal injury law that deals with injuries that occur on another person’s property, typically commercial property such as a grocery store or department store. Property owners have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition for the safety of their customers, guests, or members of the public lawfully on their property. When property owners fail to keep their premises safe, they can be held liable for any accidents that befall an unsuspecting patron as a result. Proving the property owner’s negligence is often an uphill battle, however. Property owners and their insurance companies will argue that the accident victim wasn’t watching where they were going or that they weren’t hurt very badly, or they’ll argue the property owner did all they were supposed to do to keep the premises safe. These are complicated cases that require the assistance and expertise of skilled and knowledgeable attorneys.
The attorneys at Rosenbaum Law Group possess the knowledge, skill and expertise necessary to help you when you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, trip and fall, or other accident on another’s dangerous property. We know how to prove the property owner’s negligence, fault and responsibility to you for the full extent of your legal damages, including your medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering. In March of 2022, we obtained one of the largest premises liability jury verdicts in Oregon history. Contact our experienced Portland premises liability lawyers for a free consultation. Let us know what happened, and we’ll let you know how we can help you recover the compensation you need and deserve.
Elements of a Premises Liability Claim
Like other personal injury or negligence claims, certain elements must be proven in order to hold a property owner liable for a slip and fall, trip and fall, or other accident on their property. Stated generally, these elements are duty, breach, causation and damages.
Duty
The property owner must owe some duty of care to you before you can hold them liable. If you were a customer or social guest invited in by the owner, they have a high duty to make sure their premises are safe, including conducting routine inspections and promptly fixing any hazards they discover. Even without a specific or general invitation, if you have permission or a license to enter the property, the owner owes you a duty to warn you of any dangers they know of but haven’t repaired. Licensees include people like salespersons, delivery persons, utility workers, and repair persons. Even if you were unlawfully trespassing on the property, the owner might still have a duty to protect you against unreasonable dangers, such as hazards they intentionally created to harm trespassers.
Breach
A property owner breaches their duty through negligence. If they created the hazard, or they knew about it or should have known about it, they are liable for injuries if they didn’t attempt to remove the hazard or warn you of the danger. A key aspect of this element is determining whether a foreseeable risk existed and whether the owner had enough time to notice and remedy the hazard before the accident occurred. You can expect owners and insurers to argue they aren’t responsible; our team knows the many ways to gather important evidence that proves they are liable.
Causation
A required element of a premises liability claim is proving that the owner’s negligence is the cause of your accident. This element contains both factual and legal components that must be proven, and it is often a complex part of your claim. One common tactic is for the owners and their insurance companies to blame you for getting hurt by saying you should have noticed and avoided an obvious hazard. Our attorneys are particularly skilled and experienced in battling bad faith insurance tactics, and if they aren’t playing fair, we’ll fight to see they’re held fully accountable for their insured’s negligence and any bad faith on their part.
Damages
Property owners are only liable for any damage they caused. In the context of a personal injury claim, this means proving how you were injured by the accident and what damages you have suffered in terms of medical expenses, time missed from work, pain and suffering, etc. Owners and their insurers will often dispute your damages by downplaying the serious nature of your injuries, arguing that you had a pre-existing injury or that your injury could not have happened in the accident. We’ll help you get the medical care you need and document your injury to prove the property owner’s duty to compensate you for the full amount of the damages they owe you.
Our team at Rosenbaum Law Group handles a wide range of premises liability claims in Portland, including those involving:
- Slip and Fall
- Trip and Fall
- Struck by Falling Object
- Poorly designed or negligently maintained stairs, walkways, handrails
- Poorly designed or negligently maintained recreational facilities
- Swimming Pool Drowning
- Electrocution
- Assault Due to Negligent Security
Contact Rosenbaum Law Group Today
If you’ve been injured in an accident on another’s property because of their negligence, or if you lost a loved one in a fatal accident due to an unreasonably dangerous condition on the property, the personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at Rosenbaum Law Group can help you get compensation for the harm inflicted on you. Call our experienced Portland premises liability lawyers today.
