Birmingham Premises Liability Attorney

Accidents that occur on someone else’s property because of the negligence or reckless actions of the owner or operator are called premises accidents. Common types of premises accidents are slip or trip and fall accidents, accidents occurring around swimming pools, elevator and escalator accidents, dog bite injuries, and negligent security. If you are injured on someone else’s property, the property owner may be found liable for your damages if you can prove negligence in the proper maintenance of the premises.

If you’ve been injured in a recent premises accident, contact the premises liability lawyers at Drake Injury Lawyers in Birmingham for assistance. We can help you hold a property owner accountable for careless or irresponsible acts.

We Offer High-Quality Legal Representation

As with any premises liability claim, it is important to have the best legal representation you can find to maximize your likelihood of recovering compensation. The Birmingham personal injury attorneys at Drake Injury Lawyers have more than 25 years of total experience bringing all types of personal injury and wrongful death claims, including many premises liability cases.

At Drake Injury Lawyers, our entire practice is dedicated to recovering compensation for our injured and bereaved clients. We understand the devastation a serious injury or death can cause, and we are deeply committed to seeking justice for those whose loss is not their fault, but the result of someone else’s negligent or wrongful act. Our skilled Birmingham wrongful death attorneys have the experience and compassion to represent your case and help you recover the compensation you deserve.

How Can a Birmingham Premises Liability Lawyer Help?

Attempting to handle a premises liability claim on your own as an injured victim in Alabama can expose you to common mistakes, such as missing your deadline to file or failing to preserve key evidence. Hiring a premises liability lawyer, on the other hand, allows you to rest and relax while a licensed legal professional skillfully handles your case.

A Birmingham premises liability lawyer can investigate your accident, search for evidence of fault, go up against a property owner’s insurance company on your behalf, negotiate for maximum financial compensation and even represent you at trial, if necessary. Most importantly, an experienced premises liability lawyer in Birmingham can answer your questions and give you peace of mind when you are feeling overwhelmed after an accident.

What Is a Property Owner’s Legal Duty?

Premises liability lawsuits are based on the legal theory that property owners are responsible for the accidents and injuries that they negligently fail to prevent on their properties. Negligence means the failure to act with reasonable or ordinary care. If the owner of a property should have done more to prevent a visitor’s injuries, he or she will be liable for an accident.

Anyone who owns or operates property that is open and accessible to the public owes those who enter the premises a duty to keep them reasonably safe from harm by not creating or allowing hazards to exist. The exact duties of care owed depend on the classification of the visitor. There are three different types of visitors: invitees, licensees and trespassers. Although no duties of care are owed to trespassers (unless they are under the age of 18), all property owners have a duty to prevent injuries to lawful visitors.

If an individual is an invitee, or someone welcomed onto the property by the owner, the owner must inspect a property to search for hidden hazards, repair any detected defects and warn visitors of potential risks. The same duties of care apply to a licensee, minus the need to inspect for hidden hazards. Like an invitee, a licensee also has the legal right to enter a property, but does so on his or her own volition, such as a social guest. If a property owner violates a duty of care, he or she can be liable for a related injury.

Damages Available After a Premises Liability Injury in Birmingham, AL

If you or a family member has been injured in a premises liability accident that was caused by another individual, business or government entity, you may be able to recover money in compensation for your damages. You may be eligible for a monetary recovery to make you whole again. This might include financial damages such as:

• Medical bills
• Lost earnings
• Household help
• Out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of the injury
• Diminished quality of life
• Pain, suffering and mental anguish
• The inability to participate in the activities you usually enjoy

The types of losses that you can claim on a premises liability lawsuit will depend on how the accident has impacted your life. The value of your case is also based on your unique losses, such as the severity of your injuries and whether you have a permanent disability. Our Birmingham premises liability attorneys at Drake Injury Lawyers can help you determine the value of your case and fight for fair and full compensation.

Premises Liability and Slip and Fall Accidents in Birmingham

One of the most common accidents behind premises liability suits in Alabama is the slip and fall. Our Birmingham slip and fall lawyers have seen that in many cases, a fall is directly related to someone’s carelessness or negligence in the maintenance of their property. When this is the case, there is a very good chance that working with a Birmingham premises liability attorney you’ll be able to recover money for your damages – both your financial damages and those that affect your quality of life.

Slip, Trip, and Fall Accident Statistics

If you or a member of your family has been seriously injured in a fall, you are not alone. You may be surprised to learn how common and dangerous slip, trip and fall accidents are. These are some of the surprising statistics about injuries in the United States caused by falling:

• Roughly 8,000,000 people suffer nonfatal injuries in falls every year and 24,000 people die from them, according to data supplied by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
• Falls are the number one cause of traumatic brain injuries in the U.S. Many result in death or permanent brain damage (CDC), and account for almost half of fall-related deaths among older Americans.
• About a third of all Americans over 65 are injured in falls each year.
• More than 95 percent of all hip fractures are caused by falls (CDC).
• The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 15 percent of workplace deaths attributable to accidents are caused by falling.
• Falls are the second most frequent cause of workplace deaths.
• Workplace slip, trip and fall accidents cause more than 300,000 injuries every year. That works out to approximately one fall every two minutes.
• More people visit hospital emergency rooms for treatment for fall-related injuries than for auto accidents. Close to nine million people visit hospitals annually for fall-related injuries, according to the National Safety Council (NSC).
• The most common injuries from falls are fractures of the leg, hip, hand, upper arm, forearm, hand, spine and pelvis.
• Almost half of all slip, trip and fall injuries happen on cracked, uneven, littered or slippery public walks.

As the statistics above show, slip, trip and fall accidents often cause very serious injuries and even death. This is why it is important for victims to understand their legal rights after harmful accidents.

Where Do Most Slip and Fall Premises Liability Accidents Happen?

Slip, trip, and fall premises liability accidents can occur just about any place where people are allowed to be, such as:

• Apartment buildings
• Office buildings
• Parks
• Playgrounds
• Theaters
• Gyms
• Sidewalks
• Malls
• Warehouses
• Job sites
• Restaurants
• Night clubs
• Retail businesses
• “Big box” stores
• Hotels
• Motels
• Schools
• Daycare centers
• Storage facilities
• Parking lots
• Nursing homes
• Assisted living facilities
• Hospitals

No matter where you were when your fall accident took place, you may be eligible for financial compensation.

Common Causes of Slip, Trip and Fall Accidents

Many common types of property hazards can cause visitors to slip or trip and fall. Public premises should have safe and even floor surfaces, adequate lighting, and other elements to make it easy to walk. Potentially unsafe conditions include:

• Cracked, broken, and uneven pavement
• Trash, fallen limbs, debris on a sidewalk
• Wet, slippery conditions near a store entrance
• Roots causing elevation of part of a sidewalk
• Food or merchandise that has fallen from shelves into store aisles
• Spilled food or beverages
• Potholes
• Cords or wires where people walk
• Staircases with broken steps or missing handrails
• Broken tiles or floorboards
• Wet, highly waxed, or over-polished floors
• Slippery sidewalks from sprinkler systems
• Ripped carpet
• Poor lighting conditions

It is a property owner’s responsibility to inspect a property, search for these hazards, and remedy or repair defects that could foreseeably cause accidents. Failing to do so can lead to liability for a fall accident.

Premises Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents

Another common type of premises liability accident in Birmingham is a swimming pool accident. With Alabama being a hot southern state, swimming pools are ubiquitous. If the pool owner has been negligent in maintaining the safety of the pool area, the area could contain serious hazards and injury risks. If so, the pool owner may incur liability if an accident occurs.

Swimming pools are a danger to children. Most swimming pool liability cases arise from failing to safeguard children around pools. Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death of children under 14. Diving accidents are also a danger to children and adolescents, often resulting in paralysis or death. These tragic accidents occur primarily because owners fail to make pools inaccessible to unsupervised children by means of fencing and locks.

Alabama, unlike a number of other states, does not have a specific law requiring fencing around residential swimming pools. The Alabama Department of Public Health recommends five-foot-high fencing with locked gates, but this is a nonbinding regulation to be used as a guideline.

Nevertheless, if the owner of a pool has not secured the area adequately, and a child drowns or is injured, the family may claim damages for their child’s injury or wrongful death under Alabama’s premises liability statute.

Get a Free Consultation with a Birmingham Premises Liability Lawyer

These are just two examples of many types of accidents that could result in a premises liability case in Birmingham, Alabama. If you were injured on someone else’s premises because of the owner or operator’s negligence, our Birmingham premises liability attorneys can help. Contact our Birmingham premises liability attorneys to schedule a free consultation. The amount of time in which you are able to file a claim is limited by Alabama law, so don’t wait – call (205) 970-0800 today.

Drake Injury Lawyers
2 Perimeter Park S #510e
Birmingham, AL 35243
(205) 859-2236