Houston Premises Liability Lawyer

Houston Premises Liability Lawyer

An owner has a responsibility to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition. When they don’t, visitors and guests can get hurt. If you’ve recently been injured on someone else’s property in Houston, you could be entitled to compensation from the owner. Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers can help you hold them accountable and demand the money you deserve.

We offer a free consultation, so contact our law firm or give us a call at (713) 500-5000 to schedule yours today.

How a Personal Injury Attorney in Houston Can Help With Your Premises Liability Case

How a Personal Injury Attorney in Houston Can Help With Your Premises Liability Case

When you get hurt on someone else’s property, the owner can be legally responsible for your injuries. To maximize your recovery, enlist the help of our experienced Houston personal injury attorneys to level the playing field and position yourself to win. For more than 45 years, our attorneys have been standing up to powerful property owners, businesses, and insurance companies in Houston.

We fight tenaciously on behalf. When you’re struggling with an injury that could have been avoided if the owner had not been negligent, we’ll be there to help you fight to get the money you deserve.

We will:

  • Conduct an exhaustive investigation into the circumstances of your accident
  • Dig deep to gather all pertinent evidence, including photographs, video surveillance footage, accident reports, complaints, code violations, and witness statements
  • Rely on the aid of experts and specialists as we investigate, build, and value your case
  • Handle all communication with property owners, their insurance provider, and other interested parties, and
  • Work to minimize the impact of any claims that you share responsibility for your accident or injuries.
Houston Texas Lawyer

Our accident attorneys are well known in Houston for being fierce and passionate trial attorneys. Insurance companies are very aware of our record of success in the courtroom. This fact, alone, means that they’ll probably want to avoid a showdown with us in court.

So, they’ll be more inclined to offer you a meaningful settlement to resolve your case before things go that far.

Contact our law firm to arrange a time to sit down and discuss your case. Your first consultation is 100 percent free, so call now.

Understanding Texas Premises Liability Law

What exactly does “premises liability” mean? Premises is defined to mean “the land and buildings owned by someone, especially by a company or organization.” Liability means that someone is legally responsible for something. So, simply put, premises liability means that property owners can be legally responsible for accidents and injuries that occur in their buildings or on their land.

Owners aren’t strictly liable for all injuries or accidents that happen on their premises. Rather, owners are liable when they are negligent in the maintenance and repair of their property, and that causes someone to get hurt. 

What degree of care does a property owner in Houston, TX have to exercise to avoid liability? It depends on why someone is entering the property in the first place.

There are three classifications for visitors: invitee, licensee, and trespasser.

Invitee

An invitee is someone who visits premises for a business purpose. Their visit is beneficial to the owner in some way. Invitees are, as the name suggests, invited to the premises.

This invitation can be express (meaning that the owner specifically extended an invitation to that particular person) or implied (meaning that the premises are regularly open to the public during certain times).

You might be considered an invitee if you:

  • Go to the grocery store or a shopping mall during business hours
  • Check into a hotel or motel
  • Visit a restaurant or bar for dinner or drinks
  • Participate in a business meeting at an office building downtown
  • Go to an Astro’s game.

Your visit is for a business purpose. The owner of the premises is benefitting from your presence. 

Duty to Invitees: Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees. The owner must regularly inspect their premises for hazards and dangerous conditions. If the owner identifies a hazard, you have to be warned until it can be fixed. The dangerous condition must be fixed as soon as practically possible.

If an owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition, and failed to act, they could be liable for resulting accidents and harm.

Licensee

A licensee is someone who is invited to visit premises for a social purpose. The property owner enjoys no business or monetary benefit. 

You might be considered a licensee if you:

  • Are invited to a friend or family member’s house for dinner
  • Canvass neighborhoods to support a politician or political cause, or
  • Sell knives or vacuums door-to-door.

Duty to Licensees: An owner has a duty to warn licensees about any known dangerous conditions or hazards on the premises. However, the owner does not have a responsibility to inspect the property in order to discover those things.

Trespasser

Trespassing occurs when someone enters another person’s property without their consent or permission. You might be considered a trespasser if you:

  • Cut across someone’s front lawn while walking home from work
  • Walk through a restaurant, store, or office building after regular business hours
  • Sneak into a neighbor’s backyard to use their pool while they’re not home.

In order to be a trespasser, the owner must not have given consent for you to be there. You must not have permission or an invitation.

Duty to Trespassers: Generally speaking, an owner does not have to inspect for dangerous conditions or warn trespassers about hazards. Owners are traditionally only liable for a trespasser’s injuries if the owner caused the injury through cause injury willfully, wantonly, or gross negligence.

Liability, Children, and Attractive Nuisances in Houston

Note, property owners typically owe children a duty of care, regardless of their status. Children, especially young kids, don’t really have the ability to appreciate the consequences of their actions. So, while property owners might not owe a duty of care to adult trespassers, that’s not necessarily the case when the trespasser is a child.

This is particularly true when the owner has what’s called an attractive nuisance on the premises. An attractive nuisance is something that could likely lure a child onto the property. Swimming pools or big holes are classic examples.

When an owner has an attractive nuisance on their premises, they have to take additional precautions to keep potential trespassing children safe.

An owner can be liable if a child under the age of 16 gets hurt, regardless of whether or not they were on the premises lawfully.

We Handle All Premises Liability Cases

At Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers, our premises liability lawyers fight on behalf of clients who have been injured because of a hazard or dangerous condition on someone else’s property in Houston, Texas. We handle cases involving:

Contact our experienced team to arrange a time to sit down and discuss your case in detail. Your first case evaluation is free, so connect with us online or give us a call today.

Dangerous Conditions Can Cause Severe, Debilitating Injuries

Whether you’re bitten by a dog at your apartment complex or slip and fall at a Rockets game, your injuries not only can impact your near future but they can also fundamentally change your life for years to come. Common injuries stemming from premises liability accident cases include:

At Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers, no case is too big or too small. We’re here to help you fight to recover compensation for all of your injuries after an accident on someone else’s premises. Through an injury claim, you could potentially recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. All you have to do to get started is reach out to our office and set up a free case evaluation.

Houston Personal Injury Law Firm Fighting For You

Were you recently injured while you were on someone else’s property? Did you get hurt because the owner was negligent in the maintenance and care of their property? Contact Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers to discuss your legal rights. You could be entitled to compensation, and our Houston personal injury attorneys will help you fight to get every dollar you deserve.

You’ll have a limited amount of time to file a premises liability lawsuit and seek compensation, so don’t hesitate to reach out to our law office for help today.

Our personal injury law firm in Houston, TX also handles: