Statutes of Repose for Premises Liability Lawsuits

Premises liability laws hold an owner or tenant of property upon which injury or damage has occurred responsible for that injury or damage. In most situations, the property owner must have failed to property maintain a condition on the property or warn about potential hazards that could befall a guest.

Statues of Repose Explained

Statutes of repose are statutes that prohibit bringing a claim after a certain point in time. They are not the same as a statute of limitation. A statute of repose sets for a guide of when a case can be brought against a manufacturer or installer of a product from the time of its creation. This type of statute begins to run when the product is manufactured, rather than when injury occurs as is the case in a statute of limitations. Furthermore, statutes of repose are normally not extendable.

Statutes of Repose and Premise Liability

Statutes of repose can apply to premise liability laws. The best example of a statute of repose applying to premise liability is when a person is electrocuted by faulty wiring installed twenty years earlier. A state’s statue of repose may hold that the length of time for filing this lawsuit was ten years after installation of the wiring. A statute of limitations, in contrast, would state that a party must file his injury claim within two years of the injury occurring. In a statute of repose, the injured part would be unable to bring his lawsuit against the manufacturer or installer of the wiring because more than ten years have passed since the wiring’s installation.

However, that does not mean that the injured party is prevented from seeking compensation for his injuries. An injured party may still bring suit against the property owner. This suit, however, would be governed by the statute of limitations, meaning that it would have to be filed within a certain number of years following the injury. 

Getting Legal Help

If you have been injured on property owned by another individual and believe that a statute of repose may apply to your lawsuit, seek legal assistance. An attorney will be able to determine whether the statute of repose applies and which parties may be responsible for your injury.