Premise Liability Attorney Palm Beach Gardens

Property owners owe a duty of care to the public to maintain safe conditions at all times. Each year thousands of people are injured due to a dangerous state of property. This dangerous condition might be a loose board on a restaurant floor, unstable stacks in a grocery store, an unsafe ride at an amusement park, a blocked exit at a stadium, a faulty door at a shopping mall, unsecured equipment at a construction site, or even an unfenced swimming pool at a private residence.

If you or a loved one has been injured while on the property owned by another, make an appointment with a Swan Law Firm premise liability attorney. We understand that as you or your family member deals with the trauma, you might not be thinking about suing anyone. But time is important. You want to confer with a premise liability attorney sooner rather than later to chart a course that preserves evidence and secures a remedy for your injuries.

At the Swan Law Firm, we offer clients the promise that we will handle your case with care and compassion, ensuring that you receive the best treatment from us and appropriate and timely compensation for your damages.

Why Choose Blake Swan as Your Premise Liability Attorney

The reputation of a personal injury attorney matters, especially in the early stages of a claim for premise liability injuries. Blake Swan has the credentials that impress insurance companies and defense attorneys. They know that claims filed by the Swan Law Firm are legitimate causes of action. We get results for our clients.

The Swan Law Firm is a top-ranked attorney among the National Trial attorneys Top 40, recovering over $90 million on behalf of clients from around the country.

The Swan Law Firm will fight till you get paid!

A successful personal injury attorney has a combination of skills:

• Up-to-date knowledge Florida premise liability law and civil procedure
• Compassion and dedication to our clients
• Trial experience that backs up aggressive negotiating strategies
• A reputation among insurance companies and defense counsel
• Professional, strategic, and effective

This professional attitude means that we will aggressively, and ethically, advocate for our clients so that we can recover the compensation that you deserve.

Types of Premise Liability Cases

Premise liability is based on the understanding that property owners, landlords, and lawful occupants of property owe a duty of care to invitees and other visitors to protect them from dangerous conditions, defects and unreasonable risks of harm on that property. That duty of care requires that the property owner, landlord, or lawful occupant repair any defect or provide adequate warning to visitors when they enter the property of that unsafe condition. Failing to maintain a property’s physical condition or to control the behaviors of other visitors creates possible liability. That liability can include compensation for medical expenses, and any pain or suffering caused by the accident, even a claim for wrongful death.

Premise liability cases can take many forms, but here are some of Florida’s most common types:

• Amusement park accidents: although many parks require waivers as a condition of entry, those waivers are not always operable. Dangerous rides or other conditions can cause anything from minor to life-threatening injuries that should be compensable.
• Dog bites and animal attacks: property owners are responsible for the behaviors of vicious dogs and exotic animals.
• Elevator and escalator accidents: poorly maintained equipment can open property owners up to damage suits.
• Inadequate security leading to assaults or theft: if property is located in areas of known crime, the property owner has a duty to protect visitors from criminal attacks and other activities.
• Slip and fall accidents: perhaps the most common type of premise liability case, when a property owner allows wet floor, icy grounds, slippery surfaces, or uneven pavement to create a hazardous condition.
• Swimming pool accidents: a failure to properly fence a pool or to fail to post signage warning of shallow water or no diving.

A landowner owes a different duty of care depending on whether the injured person was an invitee onto the property, a licensee, or a trespasser. If you or a loved one has been injured due to unsafe premises, preserve all of your rights by seeking a free consultation with an experienced and compassionate Palm Beach Gardens premise liability attorney now. That Palm Beach Gardens premise liability attorney should be the Swan Law Firm!

Establishing Liability in Premise Liability Cases

To succeed in a premise liability case, the injured party must prove that the property owner or landlord owed a duty of care, that the duty of care was breached, that the breach actually caused the condition that caused the injury, and that the person suffered damages. Each of these elements must be proved to secure a favorable verdict at trial. However, like most civil suits, a premise liability case is more likely to settle than to go to trial. The strength of the evidence supporting each of the four elements will impact the amounts offered during any negotiations.

Florida is a comparative negligence state. This means that if you are partially responsible for your injuries due to your own behavior, the amount of any recovery can be reduced by the percentage of your own fault. So long as the property owner was more than 50% responsible, you still might have a valid claim.

Once liability is established, the property owner might be responsible for paying all sorts of damages:

• Hospital bills
• Doctor’s fees
• Rehabilitative therapies
• Future medical treatment
• Lost wages, and lost future wages
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress

The failure of responsibility by the property owner can be so extreme, in rare circumstances, that gross negligence can be shown, or if there is evidence to support intentionality, in which case, Florida statute Sec. 768.73 permits imposition of punitive damages.

What to Do After a Premise Liability Incident

Although the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is four years in Florida, you should immediately take action and not wait.

It’s important to seek counsel from an experienced premise liability attorney to ensure that you are doing all you can to gather documentation to prove the essential four elements of a negligence claim. Do not negotiate with a claims adjuster or insurance company before consulting with an experienced premise liability attorney. The insurance company wants to minimize its financial exposure and often offers low-ball immediate payments, cheating you out of full compensation. You need a guide to properly protect all of your options.

• Importance of medical treatment and documentation: in order to establish damages, you will need to have any injuries fully diagnosed and evaluated by a medical professional. All doctor’s visits, diagnostic tests, rehabilitative services, and future medical costs need to be timely sought and properly documented.
• Gathering evidence: everything changes, so you want to take photographs of dangerous conditions, identify and interview any witnesses, including employees and other visitors, and you want to have researched any prior claims made against that property owner.
• Reporting the accident to property management or owner: you must inform the property owner or manager of the injuries to put them on notice of any defect on the property. This notice will also help other people in succeeding in their claims if they are injured after you are.
• Don’t delay contacting a premise liability attorney. At the Swan Law Firm, we can help you to take control of your recovery by helping you to secure and document proper medical treatment and rehabilitative services. Your physical, emotional, and financial recovery depend on your taking timely action to confer with an attorney and begin to build your case.

How Blake Swan Can Help You

Every potential client who approaches the Swan Law Firm for a free consultation will be interviewed to determine the viability of their claim. This process involves reviewing the evidence, medical records, and perhaps conducting a brief investigation to locate the responsible parties and their financial assets, including insurance policies, and any prior claims based on dangerous conditions.

Once a case is taken, and a retainer agreement drafted and signed, the Swan Law Firm will contact the insurance carriers, if any, to feel out whether negotiation or litigation is the best course of action for you. If the insurance carrier has undervalued the damage, and not offered an appropriate pre-filing settlement, then the Swan Law Firm will file suit on your behalf. Our goal is to maximize your recovery in the shortest period of time. However, not all cases can be settled without a trial. Especially complicated or serious premise liability cases require a trial before a jury. And Blake Swan and his team has the experience and fight you want in a trial attorney.

We Fight Until You Get Paid

At the Swan Law Firm, we will guide you through the legal process and aggressively pursue your claim, maintaining integrity and offering you compassion and understanding during this difficult time. We are committed to providing our clients with legal representation based on your needs and our professionalism. Your case will begin with a Free Consultation.

We are standing by ready to assist you 24/7. Call us now at Swan Law Firm 561-291-7492 or fill out the contact form below to schedule your free consultation.

Our Florida office is located at:

11410 Jog Road, Suite 100
Palm Beach Gardens, FL, 33410

Our telephone number is: 561-291-7492

Or email Blake Swan at: bswan@swanlawfirm.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What duty of care does a landlord owe an invitee? An invitee is someone who has been invited onto the landowner’s property usually to conduct some type of business. The definition of invitee extends to members of the public who have been invited onto the premises to engage in business, such as stores or restaurants. The landowner has the duty to repair any dangerous conditions and to maintain the property. This responsibility includes a duty to inspect the property for unknown or emerging conditions that an invitee might have access to. The highest duty of care is owed to an invitee.

What duty of care does a landlord owe a licensee? A licensee is a friend, family member, or social guest who enters a property for non-business or commercial purposes. Unlike an invitee, the duty owed to a licensee is less: only a duty to protect against known dangers, not any dangers that might be hidden or not immediately evident.

What duty of care does a landlord owe a trespasser? A trespasser is someone who is not given permission to enter land owned by another. An unauthorized visitor is not owed a duty of protection from known or hidden dangers. However, if the landowner knows there are frequent trespassers, then the landowner might be held liable for injuries resulting from conditions that the landlord created or maintained, or if they fail to notify about the dangerous condition. In some instances, therefore, even a trespasser can file a claim for damages.