If you have been injured while on someone else’s property, you may wonder if you have grounds for a lawsuit or legal claim. The answer is: It depends on a variety of factors. Your best bet to get an answer about your specific case is to contact a personal injury attorney by reaching out to Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation. In the meantime, read on to learn what is likely to be considered when we determine if you have grounds for a case or not.
You May Have a Case If….
Of course, the owner of a property is not automatically at fault for every accident and injury that occurs on their property. To win a legal claim, you must prove that the owner was negligent in protecting you and others on their property. There are a number of things you may be required to show including:
- The owner of the property knew about the dangerous condition
- The owner of the property created a dangerous condition
- The owner of the property should have known about the dangerous condition through their duty of care
- The owner of the property did remove and/or repair the issue
- The owner of the property did not provide sufficient warning about the condition
You Will Need to Prove What a Reasonable Person Would Think or Do
When the law considers the above, the burden is to determine and prove what a “reasonable” person would do. This means, would a “reasonable” person have known about the condition and/or taken steps to warn against, prevent it, or fix it? If so, then you may have a case.
We May Need to Prove Additional Factors
Some of the additional factors we may have to prove include what the cause of the condition was, how long the condition was present before your injury, what (if any) procedure the property owner had to inspect their property and determine it was safe, the last time it was inspected, and whether or not the owner has proof that the property was inspected on a regular basis.
A Note About “Open and Obvious” Dangers
In some cases, if the danger was extremely obvious then this will actually work against you. Why? Because the courts will consider that it was so obvious, you should have noted it and taken action to protect yourself.
It is important to know that every case is different and unique. When you work with Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we can take the time to find the right options for your case. We may file a claim or help you negotiate with the insurance company. Call us now at 909-982-0707 to request a free legal consultation.
