Edinburg Premises Liability Attorney

Filing a Premises Liability Case

In order to bring forward a claim of premises liability, you must prove the following:

1. The defendant (likely the property owner) owed a legal duty to you (below, based on your legal classification).
2. The defendant breached that legal duty.
3. The breach resulted in damages incurred by the plaintiff (you).

Establishing your legal status on the premises in the second step above is important for evaluating your case. Texas has three recognizable classifications with different legal duties for the property owner:

• Licensees – Individuals the property owner has given consent to enter the premises and who are on the property for their own benefit as a social guest, salesperson, etc. The property owner has a duty to fix or at least warn you of any dangerous conditions on the property they are aware of, such as uneven holes in the ground or shaky steps. 
• Invitees – Individuals who enter the space with the property owner’s knowledge and permission and for the mutual benefit of both parties, such as if they are a business patron. The property owner must warn of or make safe any dangerous conditions that they know about or could have known about through a reasonable inspection.
• Trespassers – Someone who enters another’s property without lawful permission. The only legal duty owed to a trespasser is the duty not to cause injury willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence.

Any injured person can file a premises liability claim, but if the incident resulted in death, you may instead want to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the deceased person.

The “law of attractive nuisance” also establishes that any property owner may be liable for injuries to children who trespass on the property if their injury results from a condition on the property that is likely to attract children who are unable to comprehend the risks. 

One exception to the conventional premises liability laws, however, is the “open and obvious” condition. A property owner is not automatically liable for injuries caused by “open and obvious” conditions that the court believes a reasonable person should have seen and avoided. A legal professional can better evaluate if this would even apply to your case at all, as it is a fairly nuanced and case-by-case matter.