Premises Liability Elements in Kansas City Personal Injury Case

In the course of a personal injury case on someone else’s property, you may hear the term “premises liability elements.” We’ve discussed this concept previously in our blog.

Premises liability cases can occur just about anywhere people gather, including:

• Retail stores
• Restaurants and bars
• Sport and concert venues, such as Arrowhead Stadium and the Municipal Auditorium
• Construction sites
• Office buildings
• Medical facilities and clinics
• Private homes and their outdoor living space
• Government buildings, such as libraries
• Other public areas, such as sidewalks
• Apartment complexes and rental properties
• Other venues and facilities where people visit

To have a case in Kansas City, there are certain premises liability elements that must be present. Here, we’ll explain this in more detail.

The Duty of Care

The first premises liability element is the duty of care that a property owner, manager, employees, and/or homeowner have to keep a home or business safe for all who enter. The exercise of reasonable care is a requirement that all of these individuals have.However, a responsibility for duty of care depends on who you are and why you were there.

• Invitees are people who have the owner’s express or implied permission to visit, such as customers, employees or invited guests to a home or activity (such as a party or wedding) and the owner, manager and/or employees are required to keep the place safe for them
• Licensees are generally visitors who are conducting business, i.e., salespersons or pharmaceutical reps visiting a doctor’s office; they should be warned of dangers or hazards
• Trespassers are individuals who are not invited to the property and are there illegally. There is no requirement for duty of care for trespassers, unless they are children

The duty of care can encompass any type of potential dangers that could cause harm to another, including:

• Restaurants with bad lighting, torn carpets, broken stairs or other trip hazards
• Retail stores with wet or broken floors, merchandise stacked randomly in aisles or strewn on the floor, making it difficult for customers to shop without tripping and falling
• Warehouse-style stores with merchandise stacked 30 feet high and not properly secured
• Broken sidewalks or damage in parking lots
• Dogs, cats, or other animals that have exhibited aggression or danger towards unfamiliar individuals, causing them to bite or attack

The lack of warnings of these hazards, either verbally or with signage can constitute the next element.

Negligence

In most places, when an owner, manager or employee is notified of a potential hazard, they respond accordingly, cleaning up spills, making repairs, or putting out hazard signs such as the little orange cones on a wet or slick floor.When the problem is ignored by management or the property owner, they can be considered negligent. In the case of retail establishments like stores, restaurants and other places frequented by the public, employees can also be held for negligence if they are notified but never remedy the situation.Homeowners can also be guilty of negligence if they do not remedy a hazard that may or may not be obvious, such as broken stairs or a protruding doorjamb that causes tripping and falling. Failing to restrain animals that could bite, attack, or jump on a person and knock them over can also be considered negligent, especially if the visitor had no knowledge that of the animal’s nature.

Actual Proof

In order to prove your case and recover compensation, you’ll be required to offer actual proof by demonstrating:

1. That there was a dangerous condition on the property so that it was no longer reasonably safe
2. The owner/manager/employee/landlord/tenant/other possessor knew or should have known through the exercise of his or her duty of care of the dangerous condition
3. The possessor did not use his or her duty of care to remove or remedy the hazard
4. As a result of the possessor failing to exercise duty of care, the plaintiff suffered injuries

An experienced personal injury attorney who understands Missouri premises liability law can help you build your case. You’ll have a five-year time frame under Missouri’s statute of limitations to file your case.

Premises Liability In Kansas City

Slips and falls and other accidents in places like these can leave an individual with severe, and possibly lifelong disabling injuries. If you’ve been hurt on another’s property as a result of negligence, contact The Popham Law Firm. Call us at (816) 221-2288 today or use our contact form. We’ll schedule an appointment and talk with you about how we can help.