Jackson, MS Premises Liability Lawyers

Unfortunately for victims injured on the property of another, Mississippi’s premises liability laws can be tough to navigate and unfavorable to injured victims. Unlike in many other states, Mississippi law maintains traditional classifications of trespasser, licensee, and invitee to describe persons who come onto the property of another. Each classification comes with its own standard of care for property owners. State law defines the categories and standards of care as follows:

• Trespasser – a trespasser is one who enters the property of another without the owner’s knowledge or permission and without any other legal claim of right to be on the premises. Generally, a property owner only owes trespassers a duty to avoid willfully and wantonly injuring them.
• Licensee – a licensee is one who enters the property of another for their own benefit or pleasure and with the express or implied permission of the owner. This category includes social guests. Property owners generally owe licensees a duty to warn of known dangers or other conditions they know about.
• Invitee – an invitee is one who has been expressly or impliedly invited to enter the property of another for the benefit of the property owner or for mutual benefit. This category includes businesses open to the general public. Under this category, property owners owe a duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn of any hidden danger when not in a reasonably safe condition. A premises liability lawyer can help Jackson residents try to hold a property owner accountable for violating this duty.

As one can see, premises liability cases in Mississippi can be very fact-specific. To add further complication to the analysis, the above categories are fluid. As an example, a person who comes to a store in Mississippi to buy a product can lose their status as an invitee (and the additional protections that come with that category) by entering an area of the store not open to the general public. This is why you should immediately contact a lawyer if you get hurt on someone else’s property.

If you have been hurt in a slip and fall in the Jackson area, you should seek medical attention promptly. Some of the hospitals that provide treatment to victims include St. Dominic Hospital, the Baptist Medical Center, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Most of the city’s medical centers are located not far from I-55, in the area between Lakeland Drive and Fortification Street. Another cluster of facilities is located further south on State Street toward US-80 and I-20.