Landmark Premises Liability Cases | PersonalInjuryLawyer.com

Premise liability law is a section of tort law. Developed by the American court system over the centuries, there are several landmark cases covering this section of law. These laws provide everything from general insight into premise liability to specific rules within the purview of the sector. Below is a list of several important premise liability cases.

1. Harness v. Churchmembers Life Insurance Company, 175 N.E.2d 132 (1961).

This lawsuit created what is now commonly known as the “attractive nuisance doctrine.” Plaintiff’s son died after playing in and drowning in a pool of water that had developed in an excavation pit on one of the residential properties owned by defendant, Churchmembers Insurance. The court found that the hazard was an attractive nuisance, meaning that a child could easily be attracted to it, be unaware of the dangers it posed, be harmed and that preventing this circumstance could be easily accomplished.

2. Rowland v. Christensen, 443 P.2d 561 (1961).

In this case, the court found that a social guest was entitled to be warned of dangerous conditions on the premises in which he had willingly entered. The court held that a landowner’s duty of care changed only slightly based on whether the injured individual was an invitee, licensee or trespasser. In all cases, the landowner has a duty of care to inspect and warn when reasonably foreseeable and necessary.

3. Dillon v. Legg, 441 P.2d 912 (1968).

In this case the California Supreme Court found that to be entitled to damages for injuries befalling a family member, the injured party must have been in the “zone of danger”. The zone of danger includes the area in which an individual could have been harmed, even if he was not. In this specific case, it meant that a mother that watched her child hurt while she stood inside the house could not recover because she was not in the zone of danger.

Getting Legal Help

If you are involved in a premises liability lawsuit, seek legal assistance. A lawyer will review the most important premise liability cases applicable to your lawsuit and guide you through the process of obtaining compensation for your injuries, if possible.

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