Kansas City Premise Accident Attorney
As the name suggests, a premises accident is an accident that happens on the property of someone else and was caused by a dangerous condition on the property that they should have known about. The property in question can be commercial, such as a grocery store, or residential, like a house. As long as the person injured in the accident was on the property legally, they have a valid case. Premise liability is a subset of personal injury law. The injured person is usually entitled to be compensated by the insurance company of the property owner.
If the accident victim wants the best chance of getting the compensation they require, they should contact a personal injury attorney to help them. And specifically, they should contact us at the Eslinger Law Firm to get the help they need. We have been helping victims of premise accidents throughout Kansas City for years, and we will help you as well. Our law firm can help you through every stage of the process, from filing your injury claim to calculating your expenses to negotiating with the insurance company. So be sure to contact the Eslinger Law Firm as soon as possible after you have been in a premises accident.
The Elements of a Premises Accident
For a case to qualify as a premises accident, it has to have the following elements to be considered valid:
- The property owner owed the accident victim a duty of care. This means that the property owner is obligated to behave in the way a reasonable person would in a similar situation.
- The duty of care was violated. In other words, the property owner was negligent. An example is if a store owner failed to clean up, or warn customers about, a spill that could result in a slip and fall accident.
- The property owner’s negligence caused an accident. In the previous example, the accident could be a customer slipping and falling on a spill that was not cleaned up.
- The accident caused losses for the victim. Those losses could be damages stemming from the accident, such as medical bills or damaged property.
An additional element in premises liability cases is that the victim was on the property legally. In a commercial establishment like a grocery store or a restaurant, that means the customer was there during business hours. In the case of a residential property, that means the accident victim was invited onto the property. A premises accident is not considered valid if the accident victim was trespassing on the property at the time.
There is an exception if the victim was a child and the accident was caused by an attractive nuisance. An attractive nuisance is something on the property that would be attractive to a small child and which could potentially cause them harm, such as a swimming pool. If the property has something that could be considered an attractive nuisance to a child, then the owner should make sure that a child cannot get to it. Otherwise, they could be liable for any accident that happens to the child.
Common Causes of Premises Accidents
There are many different reasons why a premises accident can occur, some of them can be more dangerous than others, but all of them have the potential to cause an accident to anyone on the premises:
- Spills
- Slippery floors
- Uneven flooring
- Poor lighting
- Ice or snow on the pavement outside the property
- Missing or loose railing on staircases
- Ripped or torn carpeting
Types of Premises Accidents
There are many different types of premise accidents that can occur, most of which are capable of causing harm to the accident victim. The following are among some of the most common:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Poor security conditions
- Swimming pool accidents
- Animal bites
- Elevator or escalator accidents
- Falling objects
- Electrocution
- Toxic fumes or chemicals
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help With a Premises Accident
A premises accident could cause serious injuries such as broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, dislocated joints, spinal injuries, and more. That means the victim could have a lot of medical expenses that they need to take care of. And while they are entitled to compensation from the insurance company of the property owner, the insurance company will attempt to claim that the victim was partially or completely at fault for the accident. This is a common tactic in premises liability cases because it gives the insurance company the chance to reduce or deny the compensation of the accident victim.
That is why a personal injury attorney is invaluable in premises liability cases. They can help the accident victim to prove that the property owner was responsible for the dangerous condition that led to the accident and therefore their insurance company should provide the compensation the victim needs. Even if the victim was partially responsible for the accident, for example if they were not paying attention, then the attorney can still help them to get compensated.
The reason is that Missouri is a comparative negligence state, which means that someone who is partially responsible for an accident can still get compensation based on their percentage of responsibility. So if the courts deem that someone is 30% responsible for their accident, they will receive 70% of the compensation they would have received if they were completely blameless. A Kansas city personal injury attorney can help the accident victim get the maximum amount of compensation they need regardless of whether they had any responsibility for the accident or not.
Contact Us If You Were in a Premises Accident in Kansas City
At the Eslinger Law Firm, we know how devastating the injuries caused by premises accidents can be. In addition to the medical bills needed to treat those injuries, there are also the lost wages if the victim is unable to work while they recover. That is why we are dedicated to giving the victims of premises accidents the help they need to get back on their feet.
Our law firm will help our clients every step of the way. We will help them with their injury claim; we will calculate their total expenses; we will gather evidence that proves the responsibility of the property owner; and we will negotiate with the property owner’s insurance company to get them a fair settlement. If a lawsuit becomes necessary, then we will represent them in a court of law as well. That is why you should contact the Eslinger Law Firm after you have been in a premises accident in Kansas City. We will fight to get you the compensation that you deserve.