In South Carolina, someone cannot invite you onto their property without assuming a duty of care to you. Property owners cannot simply do whatever they want when there’s an apparent, or nothing at all when there’s a problem identified to them, and not face consequences when someone is hurt.
If you have been injured in a premises liability accident, you could be entitled to significant financial compensation. First, you must go through a legal process, which could involve filing a premises liability claim or lawsuit against the responsible party. Call Charleston premises liability attorney Frank Hartman and his team at The Hartman Law Firm, LLC to discuss your case.
Examples of Premises Liability Cases
The principles of premises liability law apply any time someone else has invited you onto their property. Examples of premises liability cases we handle include:
- Slip and falls
- Negligent security, when you have been attacked
- Parking lot injuries
- Hotel incidents
- Amusement park accidents
- Patio and deck collapses
- Swimming pool injuries
- Dog bites
What’s a property owner’s duty of care to visitors?
When a property owner, or someone who is in control of the property, opens their premises to you, they assume certain duties that they owe you.
In any personal injury case, this is known as the duty of care. In a premises liability case, the duty of care varies based on your status on the property.
Under South Carolina law, there are three different duties of care:
- Invitee: This is someone who was invited to come onto the property that is open for business. The property owner must exercise reasonable care for the safety of an invitee. They must warn of latent or hidden dangers of which the landowner has knowledge or should have knowledge.
- Licensee: This refers to someone privileged to enter or remain upon land by the property owner’s consent, such as a social guest. The property owner must use reasonable care and warn a licensee of any concealed dangerous conditions or activities that are known to them.
- Trespasser: The property owner owes no duty of care to a trespasser other than to avoid deliberately harming them. However, that changes when children are trespassing.
You can win a premises liability case when you prove that someone breached the duty of care that they owed you. This is known as negligence, and you can put forth evidence that shows that the property owner was negligent.
Evidence of negligence can include:
- Witness testimony from people who happened to see the accident
- Pictures of the scene of the accident
- Maintenance and inspection logs
- Security camera footage
- Testimony from an accident reconstruction expert
Damages in a Premises Liability Case
The determination of how much money you may be due in a premises liability case is unique to you. The defendant is obligated to pay for the full extent of your injuries, both your actual financial losses and the experience that they have forced you to endure.
Depending on who you are suing, there could be a large amount of money available in insurance coverage to pay for your injuries. It is vital to know the value of your claim before you file a lawsuit or approach the insurance company to negotiate.
Your premises liabilities damages can include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Embarrassment and humiliation
Never draw any assumption about what your case may be worth until you talk to a premises liability lawyer.
Contact Our Charleston Premises Liability Attorney Today
As your attorney, Frank will be committed to fighting as hard as he possibly can to uphold your legal right to full compensation for someone else’s negligence. He has held others accountable and obtained justice in the aftermath of an accident at a dangerous property.
We have the legal resources that you may not be able to get on your own. Learn about a case strategy during a free initial consultation with Frank or a trusted member of The Hartman Law Firm, LLC. You can message us through our website or call us today at 843.300.7600. You pay nothing unless you win your case.
Premises Liability Case FAQs
Do property owners have a duty of care to children?
Not only do property owners owe a duty of care to children, but the actual duty is higher than they would to an adult. Property owners may be liable when children who trespass are injured by something that could be considered an attractive nuisance.
What should you do first if you were injured on another property?
Two things are entirely under your control that you should do after you have suffered an injury in a premises liability accident. First, seek medical help from the appropriate physicians, who can diagnose and treat your injury. Next, hire an experienced premises liability attorney to handle your legal case and fight for your legal rights.
You do not have to go it alone during the legal process. Our Charleston premises liability lawyer is here to help you and work to secure you all the compensation you deserve.