How a visitors status affects a premises liability claim

On behalf of Aiken and Aiken P.C. Personal Injury Attorneys posted in Premises Liability, on Friday, August 7, 2015

Under the theory of premises liability, property owners can be legally responsible for any accidents and injuries that occur on the property. In some states, the extent of the property owners liability depends on the visitors status. In other words, the property owner owes a different duty of care depending on how and why the injured person came onto the property.В Legally speaking, there are three main types of visitor status: invitees, licensees, and trespassers. An invitee is someone who is invited onto the property for business purposes. The most common examples of invitees are customers of a store. Property owners owe the highest duty of care to this category of visitor. The owners must take reasonable steps to make the property safe for guests. This means that the owners must not only repair any known dangers, but they must also inspect for, discover, and fix any unknown dangers on the property.В  A licensee is someone who is allowed on property for his or her own purposes or for social purposes, such as a dinner guest. Property owners must take reasonable care to keep licensees safe from any known dangers. They do not have a duty to look for and correct unknown hazards, as they do with invitees.Massachusetts law does not recognize a difference between invitees and licensees. Consequently, property owners owe the same duty of care to anyone who is legally on their property. In a nutshell, this means that property owners must act as a reasonable person would to ensure that the property is safe for visitors.В However, Massachusetts law does provide that property owners have a different responsibility to trespassers. A trespasser is someone who does not have permission to be on the property. Property owners do not have any obligation to protect trespassers from dangers on the property. However, owners can be held liable for a trespassers injuries if the owner acted willfully, wantonly, or with reckless disregard for the trespassers safety.This post is intended only to provide an overview of a property owners liability. If you were injured while you were on someone elses property, you may have a premises liability claim. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you understand what steps you would need to take to file the claim.В  В