Jackson, TN Premises Liability Lawyers

Premises liability is a broad area of Tennessee law, encompassing many grounds for a potential legal cause of action. For instance, typical claims involve slip and fall accidents, negligent maintenance of property, and inadequate security. To succeed on a premises liability claim, you will need to prove the defendant property owner breached a duty owed to you, and that you suffered damages as a result. At that point, the focus can shift to damages for your injuries, which may be broken bones, herniated discs in your back, or other catastrophic loss.

If you were injured by a criminal act of a third party, you may be able to assert negligent security, depending on the circumstances surrounding the attack. Unfortunately, criminal acts like assault, robbery, burglary, and rape occur daily at apartment complexes, shopping centers, gas stations, and convenient stores in the Madison County area. In Tennessee, property owners are not absolute guarantors of safety, but they are required to take reasonable steps when appropriate to protect guests and others.

For example, if you get attacked by a stranger at your apartment complex, and the business owner knew there was a history of assaults on the property, it may be relevant to look into what steps, if any, were taken to prevent similar attacks from occurring in the first place. For example, did ownership assign security guards to monitor the grounds? If there was an entrance gate, was it working properly? An experienced premises liability lawyer in Jackson can retain the necessary experts to satisfy each element of negligence under the law.

Other premises liability incidents occur in stores when people fall. An example would be when a person is walking in a grocery store and slips on water near a leaking cooler or freezer. To recover damages like medical bills or pain and suffering, the victim will need to show that the store (or one of its employees) created the dangerous condition or knew about it, yet failed to take reasonable measures in response. Notice is often difficult to prove in these cases, which is why it is critical to report the incident to the store, take photographs of the scene, and obtain contact information of any witnesses who may have relevant information. Some stores have cameras that may have recorded the incident in full. However, each company has its own guidelines related to video storage, and some cameras record over themselves after a certain period of time, which could result in footage being lost forever.