As a business or property owner, you certainly understand the importance of keeping patrons or other visitors safe. As a result, you likely take the time to regularly inspect the premises on which you conduct business in order to ensure that no dangerous conditions exist that could harm others. You likely also take the necessary steps to quickly and efficiently address any potential hazards.
However, the possibility exists that someone could still suffer injuries while on the premises, and he or she may attempt to take legal action against you in hopes of gaining compensation for those injuries. You may feel that this type of action does not suit the circumstances, but nonetheless, you certainly want to address the legal proceedings effectively.
Dangerous conditions
Typically when injuries result from a slip-and-fall accident, the injured party argues the incident occurred due to a dangerous condition on the property. Therefore, you may wish to understand that for an issue to fall into this category it must have the potential to cause an unreasonable risk to individuals on the premises. Additionally, the condition must not have presented an obvious danger to visitors on the property.
Proving fault
In order for an injured person to gain compensation, the court must find that your negligence contributed to the injury-causing accident. In hopes of defending against the allegations, you may wish to understand what proof the plaintiff could provide in order to show your liability. He or she must prove at least one of the following:
- You created a dangerous condition on the premises.
- You knew the condition existed but did not take steps to fix it.
- Due to the length of time the condition existed, you should have found and fixed it before the accident occurred.
In other words, you must have known that your inaction could have put others at risk.
Liability defense
You may have the ability to defend against the allegations if you can prove that you did not know about the condition or that it did not exist long enough for you to discover it. Additionally, if a potential danger did exist but it presented an obvious risk that visitors to the property should have knowingly avoided, that information could potentially also play into your defense presentation. To find out more information on how to defend against premises liability claims, you may wish to utilize local Louisiana legal resources.
