Whenever someone allows other people onto their privately owned land in Arizona, that landowner — as well as anyone tasked with managing the property on a daily basis — takes on a “duty of care” to protect lawful visitors from reasonably preventable harm. Failing to live up to this responsibility may constitute legally actionable “negligence.” This means anyone who gets hurt as a direct result of an unreasonably dangerous property condition might have grounds to file suit against the property owner or manager for compensation.
It is worth emphasizing, though, that this is a greatly simplified explanation of an exceptionally complicated legal process, which can be practically impossible to navigate for any injured person without a skilled personal injury attorney on their side. Fortunately, you have help available after an incident of this nature from an experienced Tolleson premises liability lawyer at Phillips Law Group willing to take your case all the way to civil court if it means getting you the best possible case result – not to mention, the justice you deserve.
What “Duty of Care” Do Property Owners Owe Visitors?
Generally speaking, the greatest duty of care established under Arizona premises liability law is owed by business owners to customers lawfully frequenting that owner’s business. These retail customers qualify as “invitees” since they are visiting for the property owner’s benefit.
In addition to warning invitees about known hazards and fixing those hazards within a reasonable amount of time after learning of them, property owners may also be liable for hazards they did not actually know about but reasonably should have discovered through the regular inspection of the property.
Private homeowners and non-commercial property owners also owe duties of care to people they invite onto their property, who in legal terms are considered “licensees” visiting lawfully for their own purposes. In this kind of scenario, the property owner still has to fix hazardous conditions reasonably soon after discovering them and warn visitors of hazards they have yet to address, but they generally are not liable for injuries caused by hazards they did not have actual knowledge of.
Finally, property owners generally have no legal duty to protect unlawful trespassers from accidental harm. However, they cannot do anything to intentionally harm a trespasser by deliberately creating hazardous property conditions. There are also some unique situations in which a landowner may be liable for an accidental injury to a trespassing child, as a Tolleson property liability attorney can explain in more detail.
What Is “Comparative Fault?”
Beyond proving that a landowner is liable for an injury on their property, it can also be important for someone injured through negligent property management to prove they played no role in causing or unnecessarily worsening their injuries through negligence of their own. This is because of the “pure comparative fault” system established under Arizona Revised Statutes § 12-2505, which grants courts the authority to reduce an injured person’s total compensation in proportion to the share of “comparative fault” assigned to them for their own losses.
Fortunately, Arizona state law does not currently set the amount of comparative fault an injured person can hold, which would disqualify them completely from recovering civil compensation. That said, working with a skilled premises liability lawyer in Tolleson to contest allegations along these lines can be crucial to achieving a favorable case result and maximizing settlement amounts.
Work With a Tolleson Premises Liability Attorney
Premises liability law can be challenging to navigate even under the best circumstances. If you try to pursue a personal injury claim against a landowner without help from a legal professional with extensive experience handling cases like this, your odds of getting the civil compensation you need for your damages may be slim to none. Fortunately, Phillips Law Group can help.
A conversation with a Tolleson premises liability lawyer at our firm can help you better understand your options and make a proactive start toward getting paid what you deserve. Call today to set up a free, no-obligation meeting with a member of our team today.
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