Premises liability is when someone is injured as a result of a dangerous condition or hazard on another person’s property. Property owners have a responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe and to fix or warn about hazards before they cause injury.
If they fail to do that, and someone is hurt as a result, the injured person may be entitled to compensation for their injuries and how those injuries have affected their life.
Injured on Someone Else’s Property? You May Be Entitled to Compensation
If you’ve been injured as a result of a hazard on someone else’s property, you may have what is called a premises liability case. These cases arise when a property owner fails to maintain safe conditions, leading to preventable injuries.
For years, you may have heard about the “open and obvious” doctrine—a rule that made it very difficult for injured individuals to recover compensation if the hazard was something they could have seen. That is no longer the law in Michigan.
Today, the focus is on whether the property owner should have taken steps to eliminate the hazard before it caused injury. That shift makes having the right attorney more important than ever.
What Should You Do After an Injury?
If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property, the steps you take immediately after the incident can make a significant difference in your case.
- Seek medical attention as soon as possible- Your health comes first. Make sure your injuries are properly evaluated as well as being documented.
- Take photos of your injuries- If your injuries are visible, cuts, bruising, swelling, document them. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
- Document How the Injury Has Affected Your Life- Begin to journalize how the injuries are impacting your ability to lead a normal life. Everything form daily tasks to medical appointments and physical therapy, pain and limitations, help you’ve needed from family members, activities you can no longer do.
Your case is not just about how you were injured, it’s about how that injury has impacted your ability to live your normal life and how some injuries may also affect your family members.
In addition to documenting your injuries, it’s critical to preserve evidence of what caused the accident.
Photograph the hazard as soon as possible
If you can, or if someone can assist you, within 72 hours of your fall take photos the same day of the condition that caused you to fall and be injured. This could include:
- A raised or uneven sidewalk
- A hole in a parking lot
- Ice or snow that was not properly cleared
- Poor lighting or unsafe walkways
- Objects or wires left in walking paths
Hazards can be repaired quickly if they’re not documented, which could make proving your case much more difficult.
What We Do for Our Clients
At Barberi Law, our job is simple: to help you recover compensation for your injuries and how those injuries have affected your life. We take immediate action by notifying the property owner that we represent you, preserving evidence, and building your case while handling all communication with the insurance company. From there, we negotiate directly with the insurance company. They know that if a fair resolution is not offered, we are fully prepared to file a lawsuit and fight for the compensation our clients deserve. Our legal team serves clients in the Central, Western and Northern Michigan area, including, but not limited to Grand Rapids, Greenville, Ithaca, Alma, Mt. Pleasant, Midland, Clare, Gladwin, Grayling, Gaylord, Cadillac and Traverse City.
Why Having the Right Attorney Matters
Premises liability cases are often challenged by insurance companies, who typically try to minimize your claim or argue that the condition wasn’t dangerous. That’s why it’s critical to have an experienced attorney who can prove that the property owner was responsible, clearly explain your injuries, demonstrate how your life has been impacted, and stand up to the insurance company on your behalf.
Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys to Get Started on Your Case
Don’t let a property owner’s negligence impact your future. Our attorneys are here to fight for your legal rights. With our help, you can obtain the compensation you deserve and begin to put your life back together. Contact us to learn more.
There are no attorney fees until we win your case!