What Is Premises Liability? A Guide for Vancouver, Washington Injury Victims

What Does Premises Liability Mean?

When someone is injured due to a property owner’s failure to maintain reasonable safety on their premises, a claim for negligence can be filed by the injured party.

Premises liability applies to many places:

• Stores, restaurants, and shopping centers
• Apartment complexes and rental homes
• Private homes and yards
• Parking lots and sidewalks
• Hotels, gyms, and event venues
• Workplaces and office buildings

Liability can also be imputed to tenants, property managers, or others who have control of a premises or area.

Common Premises Liability Cases

Examples of typical injuries in cases of premises liability are:

• Slip and fall accidents on wet floors, ice, or spilled liquids
  • These types of accidents can be caused by torn carpet, cracked pavement or many other objects that could have been removed by the owner or occupant of the premises.
• Poor lighting in stairwells, garages, and walkways
• Broken stairs and loose handrails
• Inadequate security that allows a foreseeable assault
• Dog bites on someone’s property
• Falling objects from shelves or overhead
• Swimming pool accidents and missing safety barriers

How Washington Law Classifies Visitors

Washington law recognizes three categories of visitors and their corresponding levels of protection under the law.

While children generally are treated as adults in cases involving injury on another’s property, the attractive nuisance doctrine has served as the basis for many cases in which children have been injured on property with features such as pools, trampolines, and dungeons when those attractions drew the child onto the owner’s property for his or her own recreation.

Many defense attorneys argue that injured individuals were licensees or trespassers, thus decreasing the obligations of property owners and/ or occupiers.

What You Must Prove in a Premises Liability Claim

In order to recover for your injuries, you must first prove that 1) the owner owed a duty of care to you, 2) the owner breached that duty of care, 3) the owner’s breach

• The owner owed you a duty of care.
• The owner was negligent in not maintaining the premises in a safe condition or in warning you of the hazard.
• The owner knew or should have known about the danger, a concept called “notice.”
• This issue caused your injury and resulted in further loss for you.

How Notice Works

Notice can be established by two different methods: (1) the owner or staff knew about the hazard, or (2) the hazard existed for so long that with reasonable inspection it would have been discovered.

• Actual notice: The owner or staff knew about the hazard.
• (b) Constructive notice: that a reasonable inspection would have discovered the condition within a reasonable time.

Maintenance records, incident reports, video recordings of the area and testimony from employees are examples of how proof of notice can be established.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

A successful claim can cover:

• Medical bills, past and future
• Lost wages and reduced earning ability
• Pain and suffering
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation costs
• Property damage
• Loss of enjoyment of life

Note: It is generally accepted that premises liability claims do not allow for punitive damages, and the party’s award will be limited to their actual losses.

Washington’s Pure Comparative Fault Rule

Washington follows a pure comparative fault system, meaning that regardless of the amount of fault you held for your injury, you can recover from others for their portion of fault. Your recovery will be reduced by the amount of fault attributed to you.

Example: You are awarded $100,000 in damages, but the jury found you 20% at fault. Thus, you would receive $80,000 ($100,000 x 80/100).

Most insurance adjusters know this rule, and try to lay as much blame on you as possible in your recorded statement. The best way to prevent them from doing so is to hold off giving them a recorded statement until you have consulted with an attorney.

The Deadline to File in Washington

Washington allows 3 years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit for a premises liability claim (RCW 4.16.080). This statute of limitations must be strictly adhered to and failure to timely file will result in a client’s ability to seek compensation being forever extinguished.

We also note special claims against government property, i.e., claims for damage to a city sidewalk or to a public building. The procedures for such claims require that a written claim be submitted to the appropriate government entity within a specified time and that 60 days pass before a lawsuit can be filed.

What to Do After an Injury on Someone Else’s Property

It is critical that the way you handle the incident in the days that follow will also impact your ability to preserve and receive compensation for your injuries.

• Seek immediate medical treatment. Your health is the first priority and your medical bills will be correlated to your accident to ensure all appropriate treatment is accounted for.
• Document the Incident. Tell the owner or manager how the injury occurred. Request a written incident report.
• Take photographs. Include in the photographs the defect, the lighting, and surrounding area before any attempt is made to repair.
• Collect witness information. Names and phone numbers help later.
• Also, keep a record of the shoes and clothing that you were wearing at the time of the injury as they can be used as evidence.
• Avoid discussing your accident on social media and refrain from describing your injuries in posts or updates.
• Early settlement offers from the insurance company typically do not include full value to cover all of your long-term needs.
• Wait until you speak with an attorney before you speak with an insurance company.

How Mcaleer Law Can Help

In order to achieve the best result in a premises liability case, evidence, speed and strong negotiation are all needed. Mcaleer Law will investigate the scene of injury, gather and preserve video and other records, identify all responsible individuals and parties, and vigoriously negotiate against the insurer who is attempting to low-ball your claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is premises liability in simple terms?

This form of negligence is attributed to the property owner or occupier and is their responsibility to maintain reasonable safety on their property and to compensate individuals who are injured by unforeseen accidents on their property that the owner/Occupier could have prevented had they been maintaining reasonable care.

Who is responsible for a fall in a store?

The property owner, store operator, or property management company for the store are typically responsible for the area where a fall occurred.

Partially at fault for your fall? Yes, you can file a claim.

Yes. Washington is a pure comparative fault state and therefore allows for claims where the plaintiff is partially at fault for their injuries.

Q: How long do I have to file a premises liability lawsuit in Washington?

Most personal injury cases including those based on premises liability must be filed within three (3) years of the date of injury. Claims against governments have additional procedures and a 60-day waiting period.

Can a landlord be liable for my injury?

Yes. An owner of real property, including a landlord or tenant, can be held liable for injuries occurring in common areas under their control such as stairwells, parking lots and hallways.

Do I need a lawyer for a premises liability claim?

While you are not required to have an attorney, an attorney can go to the scene and collect evidence, establish the legal notice required, combat the tactics of the insurer and generally obtain a greater recovery than you could by yourself.