Injured on Property of Another? You Have Rights.
Posted by
Justin MaddenAugust 30, 2006 9:13 AMDespite the rhetoric of homeowners liability insurance companies, if you get hurt while on the property of another, you have rights to be compensated. But if you listen to the claims adjuster, who calls when you are injured, the adjuster will try to convince you otherwise.
If you slip and fall on another person's property, or a business property, the cause of your fall may have been the owner's negligence and you have a right to be compensated. These types of cases are known as premise liability cases. When a person is injured due to items left on floors, water or ice left on on floors, bad stairways, the injury may raise a question as to whether the owner should have allowed the fall hazard to exist.
This is also true in construction or contractor cases where persons working at the property or jobsite owned by another, who are injured because of a safety defect at the site, have a premise liability claim beyond mere workers compensation.
Dog bite cases, or injuries from an animal kept on the property of another, also raise a serious question of whether the injured victim should be compensated for what happened.
But victims too frequently follow the advice or explanation of the insurance adjuster, who is paid by the company to avoid giving away the company's money. Think this is an objective advisor? No chance.
The wise consumer seeks an opinion from a qualified attorney who has experience in these type of cases, to be certain that the advice is more objective. Attorneys who represent premise liability victims usually work on contingency fees, which means that they do not earna fee unless they succeed in getting compensation for the injured person. Therefore, if an attorney knows the case does not have merit, the attorney would advise as such and this eliminates the filing of ameritless lawsuit. However, if the attorney researches the matter and finds good grounds to go forward, then the injured person knows that an experienced and qualified lawyer will give them their day in court and will zealously pursue tehir rights to compensation.