When people have their own business, it comes with certain legal obligations. This can include the requirement of keeping your property safe. This must be done so that accidents are not caused due to negligence. In the event that this happens, visitors to the business can sustain serious injuries as a result. These individuals can pursue legal action against the negligent business owner to recover compensation under premises liability law. Continue reading below to learn more.
What are the Three Legal Classes of Visitors?
Under premises liability law, visitors are classified in three ways:
- Invitee: A person who is invited onto a property. In the event of a business, the invitation is to exchange business for a mutual benefit.
- Licensee: A person who comes onto a property for personal, not to business or commercial, purposes. An example can be a person invited to a house for dinner. Usually, business visitors are invitees and not licensees.
- Trespasser: A person who is on a property without invitation and violating trespassing laws. An example can be a customer who does not leave when they are asked or a burglar.
What are Common Causes of Injury Claims?
The common hazards that can become present and threaten the safety of business visitors can include the following:
- Slippery surfaces: Rain, ice, spills, wet or waxed floors, etc.
- Faulty stairs and escalators: Broken railings, slippery steps, and mechanical failures.
- Falling merchandise: Objects that fall off their shelves can injure both employees and customers.
- Physical obstacles: Inadequately placed electrical cords, protruding furniture, floor mats or door moldings, door stops, fallen merchandise, etc
- Inadequate lighting: Customers may not see curbs, physical obstructions, steps, potholes, etc. without quality lighting.
- Parking lots: Concrete car stops, potholes, misdirected cars, uneven pavement, poor signage, construction, criminal activity, etc.
- Sidewalks: Broken, cracked, or uneven sidewalks can cause accidents. While business owners cannot be held liable for accidents that happen on government-controlled sidewalks, they can be for those that happen on the sidewalk adjacent to their business.
- Food poisoning: Customers can become sick as a result of poor food handling, poor storage, or the transmission of disease from employees.
Contact our Firm
The Law Offices of George Poulos is an experienced Workers’ Compensation, personal injury, and Social Security Disability law firm with offices in Queens and the Bronx. We understand the implications of a serious accident, which is why we take pride in tenaciously representing our clients. If you require strong legal representation, contact our firm today to schedule a free consultation.
