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Property owners of all kinds have a legal duty to make sure their premises (buildings and grounds) are reasonably safe for those who may visit. People who slip and fall, trip and fall, or are otherwise injured because a property hazard was not remedied in a timely fashion or made apparent with an adequate warning have a right to compensation for their medical expenses and other losses.
For more than two decades, the dedicated Rock Hill personal injury attorneys of Schiller & Hamilton have helped victims of slip-and-fall accidents, dog bites, and other dangerous conditions recover full and fair compensation for their injuries and financial losses. We are proud to hear from so many friends and families of clients who have recommended us, and we work hard every day to provide services beyond what they expect.
Don’t look to an insurance company to protect your interests if you’ve been injured in a fall or a similar accident on someone else’s property. The insurance adjuster investigating your case is expected to close out your claim as fast and for as little as possible. They are interested in their employer’s bottom line, not your needs.
Contact our Rock Hill premises liability attorneys today for a free consultation. Our law firm won’t charge for our services unless and until we obtain compensation for you.
What Are Property Owner’s Duties?
A premises liability claim charges that you were injured because a property owner failed to meet its responsibility of safety to you when you visited a store, shopping center, office building, restaurant, theater, park, hotel, home, etc. Property owners, often through managers and/or staff, have a duty to:
- Ensure their buildings and grounds are safe for legal visitors
- Inspect their premises with reasonable frequency to identify potential hazards
- Correct or mitigate hazards on their property in a timely manner
- Post warnings or barriers that would sufficiently alert a reasonable person to unsafe conditions that cannot be remedied in a timely manner
If you have been seriously injured in an accident on someone else’s property, don’t sign anything or accept an insurance company payment without talking to our experienced personal injury lawyers about what you truly deserve to be paid.
Our legal team will thoroughly evaluate your losses, calculate everything you are due, and develop a solid claim for compensation. Our local property injury attorneys are skilled negotiators and respected litigators. We will press your case aggressively in negotiations with insurers or present a persuasive case to a judge and jury, if necessary.
Common Causes of Injuries on Unsafe Property
Property hazards come in many forms, but the cause of unsafe conditions, and what makes the property owner potentially liable, is likely one or more of these reasons:
- Negligent maintenance
- Poor lighting
- Poor building construction
- Building code violations
- Negligent design
- Negligent security
If you or a family member has been seriously injured in an accident caused by hazardous conditions on someone else’s property, you should act promptly to exercise your legal rights. Our law firm is committed to pursuing accident and injury cases when we believe our attorneys can make a difference for those who have been unjustly harmed. Schedule a free consultation with our premises liability attorneys in Rock Hill today.
Types of Cases We Handle in Rock Hill
Premises liability is a broad term that includes a variety of accidents and intentional acts. Clients we assist typically have been hurt in such incidents as:
- Slip-and-fall accidents. Accidental falls are leading causes of head and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs); back and spinal cord injuries, including paralysis; broken bones, particularly hip, arm, leg, or ankle fractures; and other serious and costly injuries. There are numerous reasons a person may slip or trip and fall when property owners neglect potential hazards, such as:
- Floors left wet and slippery due to spilled liquids, tracked in rain or snow, recent mopping, etc.
- Store aisles, corridors, or other walkways cluttered with fallen merchandise, left-behind supplies or equipment, discarded trash or debris, etc.
- Flooring, carpet, rugs, mats, paving stones, stair treads, etc., that are uneven or loose
- Parking lots or lawns made hazardous by potholes, small excavations, obscured sprinkler heads, etc.
- Faulty elevators and escalators that start or stop abruptly and/or do not align with the floor when stopping
- Floors and other walkways inherently slippery or uneven because of building materials, design, or construction
- Dog Bites. Thousands of people are injured by dog bites and maulings every year. Children and the elderly are most vulnerable to an attack, but any dog may bite anyone at any time. In addition to serious cuts and bruises from the animal’s bites, victims may be knocked to the ground and suffer serious fall injuries. Dog bite cases are measured on strict liability, which means the property owner may be liableas long as the dog was not provoked. In cases involving young children, provocation may not be a valid defense.
- Swimming pool accidents. Public and private swimming pool owners are subject to local ordinances and regulations meant to ensure users’ safety. Homeowners, local governments, hotels, motels, waterparks, and others can be held liable if their negligence leads to accidents such as drownings, near-drownings, drain entrapment, falls on pool decks, disease or infection from untreated water, exposure to toxic chemicals, etc.
- Assault. Owners of motels, hotels, apartment complexes, offices, and other facilities may be liable if a guest or resident is assaulted or robbed by an intruder allowed access due to negligent security. Stores or other businesses that allow loitering might be held responsible for violence or vandalism that causes injury and/or property damage.
If you have been injured in an accident on someone else’s property, contact our experienced attorneys as soon as possible. We will review your case at no charge and walk you through what to expect in a personal injury claim.
How Insurers Fight Premises Liability Claims
You can pretty much count on a property owner denying responsibility for your accident. Our investigation of the facts will likely indicate who is really at fault. But there are two standard defenses that raise concerns in premises liability cases:
- Trespassing. Property owners generally do not have legal responsibility for people who are on their property illegally. In cases involving a young child, it may be argued that they did not understand the concept of trespassing.
- An “open and obvious” danger. This supposes that a reasonable person would have recognized the hazard that caused their injury and avoided it. An open pit at a construction site is a standard example of “open and obvious.” However, court rulings in Rock Hill have chipped away at this defense. In some cases, a property owner would expect visitors to be distracted from even an obvious danger, such as during a staged performance or as they came upon an elaborate merchandise display.
Regardless of the circumstances of your accident, our determined lawyers would still like to speak to you about your potential premises liability case so we can help you in any way we can.
Compensation After a Hazardous Property Accident
It’s a mistake to look to an insurance company to protect your interests if you have been seriously hurt in a slip-and-fall or other type of accident. Claims adjusters know without even speaking to you what will make a settlement seem like just enough to be acceptable – or how they can get away with denying your claim.
However, a personal injury lawyer you have engaged to pursue a claim works with your interests in mind. At Schiller & Hamilton, we only take cases when we believe we can make a real difference in the client’s life, and we do not charge for our services unless we recover compensation.
Depending on the circumstances of your case, we may demand payment for:
- Medical costs (both now and in the future)
- Lost income (including reduced earning capacity in the future)
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial expenses (if a loved one’s accident was fatal)
As your attorneys, there is more we can do to make your life easier after an accident on another person’s property. We can manage insurance company paperwork, advise creditors of an impending claim, help you find specialized medical care, and take other issues off your plate so you can focus on getting well. We treat everyone who comes into our offices like family.
Protecting Rights After an Injury
After being hurt in a dangerous property accident, there are steps you can take to protect your rights to compensation down the road. You or a companion should see to these tasks ASAP and follow our other tips:
- Get medical care. You need to receive appropriate treatment for your injuries, but by visiting a doctor you also start documenting the basis of your claim.
- Report the accident. Get what happened to you on the record. If police responded, they will file a report. Otherwise, contact the property owner or manager and ask to file a report. If they do not have a formal process, write them via email or postal mail describing what happened and when.
- Get names and contact information for witnesses. Our lawyers will contact and interview witnesses to determine what everyone saw and heard at the time of the property accident.
- Take photos of your injuries and the scene. Get photos of the hazard that led to your injury. Write down or record what you remember about the accident and what you were doing just before it happened.
- Be careful what you say. Never admit fault for the accident. Do not discuss your case with friends, family members, or acquaintances. Don’t post anything to social media about your accident, injuries, or a potential legal claim. You never know how your words or photos may be twisted and used against you later by the insurance company.
Contact a Rock Hill Premises Liability Attorney for Help
After being injured in a fall or another accident on someone else’s property, you need to talk to a skilled personal injury attorney about what South Carolina law indicates you may deserve for your losses. When you call or contact our law firm online, we will set up a free consultation to discuss your case. If we see a path forward, our team will immediately launch an investigation to prepare a claim for compensation to you.
Rock Hill has strict limits on how long after an accident you can file a personal injury claim. Don’t delay. We do not charge for our services unless and until we obtain a settlement or jury award for you.
Contact our Rock Hill premises liability lawyers today. We have been helping accident victims in Rock Hill and surrounding communities for more than 20 years. We are here to help you, too.