As a property owner or home owner you have the responsibility (duty of care under premises liability laws) to keep your property maintained to code for the safety of others to prevent a person being injured while on your property.

Keep Your Home Safe for Guests

Summer and holiday parties often bring guests into your home or onto your property, you need to be sure to provide all the proper lighting and complete maintenance before they arrive. If a guest suffers an injury while in your home or on your property, they could bring a personal injury lawsuit against you IF your home was not maintained properly for their safety, and you could be found negligent as a home or property owner.

Basically, you are required by law, as a landowner, to maintain your property, keeping it a safe location, judged against the reasonable person standard. If, as the landowner you fail to do so, you are considered in breach of your duty of care, which is what you owe under the law to those entering your property. Unsafe conditions leading to an injury can leave you liable for negligence.

Can an Injured Guest Sue Me?

If a guest to your home is injured there is the possibility that you as the homeowner could face a lawsuit. As a private home or landowner owner you are legally obligated to provide a level of reasonable care, as well as both proper land and home maintenance, for persons invited to or visiting your property. The reason for these regulations and laws are to ensure that your property is safe from conditions that could be dangerous.

What is Premises Liability?

The responsibility of maintaining your property is known as premises liability. To be more specific, premises liability law refers to the rules that govern the liability for personal injury for residential homeowners.

If you have invited guests you have the responsibility to warn them of any hazards or dangers they may experience while there, including conditions that are not apparent to the naked eye and only a landowner would know about. If you are aware of any potential hazards in your home or on your property that could result in an injury just inform your guests and take precautions so that they cannot access that dangerous portion of your property. For instance, put up warning signs and barricades to prevent passage on the dangerous portion of your property. If you are negligent and fail to inform your guest and they are injured, it could result in you personally being held liable for your injured social guests.

Should I Consult a Lawyer for Help with Property Injury Issues?

If you are a homeowner or a landowner, you should consult with a skilled and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer to determine the duty of care if you have a hazardous feature on your property. Consulting with an experienced attorney in advance of an injury to a guest could help you avoid liability issues.

Holding Property Owners Liable for Negligence

All property owners have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of visitors. If an owner’s negligence causes an accident or injury, the injury victim may be entitled to collect damages.

At the Tindall Law Firm, LLC, we have nearly 24 years skilled experience representing people injured on unsafe property in Connecticut, including private property, commercial property and retail property. We strive to recover the maximum compensation allowed under the law for all your harms and losses. For a free consultation with a Waterbury premises liability attorney, please call 203.755.0018 or contact us online.