Premises Liability
In an accident? Contact Mike Brandner Law!
New Orleans Premises Liability Lawyer
Did you or a loved one suffer an injury on someone else’s property or on the property of a business or municipality? If so, these types of injuries often fall under premises liability law, which can be complex in nature due to the variations of personal injury law that may apply. A premises liability lawyer can help you make sense of your case and develop the evidence needed to justify your claim.
Mike Brandner Law handles all kinds of premises liability injury cases, including slip and falls, trip and falls, and more. Our experienced personal injury attorneys are available any time. We look forward to discussing your legal rights and helping you seek the fullest extent of compensation possible.
Free Case Evaluation
Complete the form below and a member of our legal team will contact you to discuss your case.
Common Injuries on Another’s Premises
Nearly any type of injury can potentially be sustained on a property. The nature of a premises liability injury is generally dictated by the hazard. Common examples of premises liability injuries include:
- Concussions
- Lacerations
- Burn injuries
- Bruises
- Broken or fractured bones
- Torn and/or partially torn ligaments
- Loss of vision
- Permanent scarring
- Loss of digits
- Accidental amputation
- Whiplash
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spine injury and/or spinal cord injury
- Internal organ injury
These injuries can range from minor to completely life-changing or even deadly. Most noteworthy, the range of these types of injuries also coincides with the many different premises liability accident scenarios in which injury may occur.
Types of Premises Liability Accidents
If negligence had not played a role, your injury may have been avoided. Not many people consider this, especially if they:
- Did not have personal injury and liability on their mind at the time of the accident
- Feel embarrassed or clumsy and blame themselves for what occurred
In many cases, these injuries were caused by someone exercising reckless behavior or negligence in properly maintaining a premises. Examples may include any of the following:
- Broken and crumbling sidewalks: Old age and weather extremes can cause sidewalks to break and fall apart. As fixes can be difficult and costly, property owners may not give sidewalk repairs the priority they deserve.
- Slippery surfaces: When you think of slippery floors, you probably picture a wet floor sign or a mop. There are two common reasons why this can occur. First, a property owner or their maintenance crew cleans the floor. Second, something spills on the floor and goes undetected or is not properly wiped up. Both of these scenarios can create hazardous conditions. Especially if warning signs do not get placed and the public is not warned away from walking on a slick surface.
- Landscape hazards: Landscaping is meant to make an area more beautiful, not fraught with danger. However, a landscaper or property owner may not remove roots sticking out of the ground, fallen tree limbs after a storm, or rocks that may have been moved into a footpath. Any of these examples can create a tripping hazard.
- Dangerous décor: Similar to landscape, décor is meant to make your surroundings pleasing to the eye. An improperly anchored bookcase or poorly hung portrait can severely injure someone if they break free and fall.
- Mismanaged construction sites: Construction sites can also pose risks. Missing warning/safety signs can put workers and other visitors at risk of injury. Other construction site risks that can also cause unexpected injury include a construction area not properly closed off or a worker acting recklessly.
The key takeaway is that less-than-optimal conditions in any setting can lead to life-altering injuries. Furthermore, a personal injury involving dangerous conditions on a property can occur in many more scenarios than the ones listed above. An experienced premises liability lawyer will be able to tell you if your situation qualifies as a personal injury case.
Build Your Strong Case
- Were you invited? Keep in mind that, in order to build a personal injury case, you must prove that you were the invitee in the scenario. If you were not invited or allowed on the property, you may qualify as a trespasser. It is unlikely that a strong case can be built around your subsequent injuries.
- Swap insurance information. Begin documentation at the time of the incident. Do this initially by getting the name, address, and insurance information from the owner of the property on which your injury was sustained.
- Take photos. Try to get pictures of the area. Photos capture proof that can later be used to prove that there were no signs around a slippery floor or that a lighting fixture mechanism was improperly installed. This may prove that the property owner had constructive notice to fix the issue yet failed to do so.
- Interview witnesses. Interview witnesses that observed your injury, if possible. Also, ask for as much contact information as you can from them so that you can connect with them later if needed.
- Get a police report. Call the police to further document the scene of the accident. Authorities will issue an official police report of the entire event.
- Seek medical treatment. Get your injuries treated by a medical professional. Again, save all documentation of medical costs, reports, and hospital visits.
- Securely store evidence. Finally, secure and preserve this evidence as best you can. When you reach out to your premises liability lawyer, they will use this evidence to build a personal injury case around you.
Call Mike Brandner Law today to get experienced legal representation on your side. Our legal team is prepared to work hard to build your premises liability case and give you the attention you deserve. Your initial consultation is completely free, so do not hesitate to reach out to us. You are one call away from learning if your case is eligible for compensation to cover injuries and other damages.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Louisiana Premises Liability Frequently Asked Questions
Often, people think that there is no reason to seek compensation for an injury because they are either able to pay medical bills or think that pursuing an injury case would be a hassle. Not so! If anything, you may be entitled to compensation beyond the medical bills from your injury.
Some types of compensation you may be entitled to receive may seem straightforward, while others may be unexpected. For instance, doctor bills, hospital stays, and ambulance rides may be the responsibility of the property owner.
You could also win back your lost wages from the time you had to take off work due to your injuries and treatments. Additionally, if your injury caused you to lose your job, there’s a possibility of compensation for that as well.
Was your injury life-altering? Sadly, some premises liability cases deal with injuries as extreme as broken femurs, traumatic brain injuries, and even full paralysis. Compensation for these catastrophic injuries may come in the form of a long-term monetary amount to help cover lifestyle adjustments. You could also receive compensation for your pain and suffering.
In Louisiana you can be partially responsible and still recover some damages. In most cases your eventual compensation will simply be reduced by your percentage of culpability (if you’re 30 percent at fault, you’ll receive 70 percent of the compensation). Louisiana’s pure comparative negligence doctrine means you can even be mostly at fault and still recover damages.
Putting the blame back on the plaintiff is one of the most common defenses used by property owners. They’ll try to argue you were distracted and not looking at where you were walking or make a similar type of assertion. The less they are responsible in the eyes of the law, the less they will have to pay.
Yes—if there was no reasonable way they could have known about the hazard or had time to fix it, they might not be liable for injuries.
It’s important that the hazard was something they should have been aware of and either had adequate time to fix or put up warning signs to prevent injuries.
For example, if you spill a gallon of milk in a grocery store aisle and then slip in it five seconds later, the store likely won’t be liable for your injuries. They didn’t know about the hazard or have time to fix it before your injury occurred.
SERVING THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
Our Premises Liability Lawyers Will Fight for You
Mike Brandner Law is dedicated to helping individuals who suffer injuries due to no fault of their own. You can call (504) 345-1111 any time of the day or night to schedule a free, no-obligation case evaluation.