Visiting someone else’s private property is never a completely risk-free endeavor, even if the other person goes to great effort to keep their land as safe and free of dangerous conditions as possible. However, if a landowner is negligent in maintaining their property, their failure to provide even a basic level of protection to lawful visitors could open them up to civil litigation and liability for physical, financial, and personal losses stemming from an accident on their property.
Getting injured while visiting another person’s land can serve as grounds for litigation, but your chances of success with such a claim may be very low if you try to demand compensation without a seasoned attorney’s assistance. Retaining a knowledgeable Houston premises liability lawyer from Roberts Markland LLP could go a long way towards not only boosting your odds of case success, but also to maximizing the restitution you receive through a private settlement or court verdict.
Depending on exactly what kind of dangerous condition someone encounters while visiting private property, the damages they might be entitled to pursue through ensuing litigation could vary significantly. Broadly speaking, though, cases of this nature tend to center around some or all the following:
In situations where a landowner intentionally harms someone on their property or displays extreme negligence, a court may impose additional punitive damages against them. As a Houston property liability attorney could affirm, though, the maximum amount of punitive damages allowed in one case is two times economic damages suffered by the plaintiff up to $750,000 maximum, plus the exact value of their non-economic damages up to $200,000 maximum.
Even if an injured person can prove conclusively that they sustained harm while on someone else’s land, that fact alone does not necessarily justify a lawsuit against the property’s owner or manager. In fact, the degree to which a particular person can be held liable for injuries on their property changes a bit depending on why the injured party was visiting in the first place. For example, landowners are generally not liable for accidental injuries to trespassers, and they must provide warning of known hazards to people visiting lawfully for personal gain but are not liable for hazards that they were unaware of.
Furthermore, the amount of fault an injured person holds for causing or worsening their own damages may result in a court proportionately reducing their recoverable compensation by that same percentage as per Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §33.012, or even prohibiting recovery altogether under TX Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §33.001. A skilled lawyer’s help can be vital to establishing fault by a landowner while challenging accusations of fault made against a plaintiff during a premises liability claim in Houston.
Being hurt while away from home can be uniquely traumatic, especially if it stems from reckless or careless misconduct from the person who owned the land where your accident occurred. However, you have important legal rights in such situations that, if applied proactively, could allow you to recover substantial compensation for every form of harm you should never have sustained.
A qualified Houston premises liability lawyer at Roberts Markland LLP could discuss your unique options thoroughly during a private initial meeting. Schedule yours by calling today.
