The 3 Elements of Premises Liability Cases

Premises liability cases are those lawsuits in which a plaintiff alleges that he was injured on the defendant’s property due to the defendant’s failure to maintain the premises as required. In every lawsuit a claim has elements that must be proved prior to the case going forward to litigation and being adjudicated. A premises liability case has three elements.

The Defendant’s Possession of the Premises

The first element that a plaintiff must show is that the defendant had possession of the premises. This does not necessarily mean that the defendant must own the building, but rather that he occupied it in such a manner that he was in control of the area. This means that a tenant, even if not on the lease, can be shown to have possession of the premises. The reason this must be shown is because an individual cannot manage a building or other area of which he is not in possession. Likewise, an individual is not normally considered to be in charge of public buildings.

Plaintiff’s Status as Invitee or Licensee

The next element a plaintiff must prove is that he was entitled to be there either as an invitee or a licensee. An invitee is an individual that the defendant permitted on the property for business reasons. A licensee is an individual invited onto the property for a reason other than business. While this distinction seems subtle, it changes the duty that the defendant owed to the plaintiff, thereby affecting the amount recoverable in court.

There is a third status available to a plaintiff: trespasser. A trespasser has not been invited by the defendant onto the premises for any reason. If a trespasser is injured he will be unable to recover unless the defendant knew or should have known that there was a possibility of an uninvited individual being injured on the premises under his possession.

The Defendant’s Duty

The final thing that must be shown is that the defendant had a duty to maintain the premises so that it would be safe and that he did not fulfill that duty. This can be shown by demonstrating that the defendant knew something was dangerous, did nothing to fix it and then invited other individuals onto the property where they could be injured.

The elements of a premises liability case are not complex, but must be proven prior to the case being filed in a court of law. If you have been injured on another person’s property, consult an attorney about the merits of your case and whether it fulfills the three elements of a premises liability claim.