Premises Liability Lawyer Knoxville, TN
Mr. Trotz was recognized from 2019-2024 as a Super Lawyers Mid-South Rising Star. Mr. Trotz is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association where he serves on the Executive Committee. READ OUR EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
Mr. Trotz was recognized from 2019-2023 as a Super Lawyers Mid-South Rising Star. Mr. Trotz is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association where he serves on the Executive Committee. READ OUR EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
A business or property owner in Knoxville can be legally responsible if you are injured on their premises. You’ll have to demonstrate that the owner’s negligence created a dangerous situation and allowed you to get hurt. Our premises liability attorneys in Knoxville, TN, can help you take on powerful businesses and fight to hold them accountable for your medical bills, lost wages, and suffering.Â
Property owners in Knoxville, Tennessee, have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. If you get hurt because an owner is negligent, you may have the right to hold them financially responsible for your resulting medical bills, lost earnings, and other damages. The experienced Knoxville premises liability lawyers at NST Law are ready to help you fight for the maximum financial recovery.
Since 1990, NST Law has been a champion for the injured. As leaders in premises liability litigation in Tennessee, our top-rated attorneys have successfully helped clients win over $2 billion in settlements and verdicts.
Now we’re ready to help you take on a tough insurance company, unforgiving property owner, or big business in Knoxville and fight to get the compensation you deserve. We offer a free consultation, so contact our law office in downtown Knoxville, TN, to schedule yours today.
Table Of Contents
- How NST Law Can Help You With Your Premises Liability Case
- What Is Premises Liability in Knoxville?
- What Do I Have to Prove to Win My Premises Liability Case?
- We Handle All Types of Premises Liability Cases in Knoxville, TN
- How Long Do I Have to File a Tennessee Premises Liability Lawsuit?
- What Compensation Can I Recover In a Knoxville Premises Liability Claim?
- Call Our Knoxville Premises Liability Attorneys For Help Today
- Premises Liability FAQs
How NST Law Can Help You With Your Premises Liability Case
Whether you’re hurt at a local business, on government property, or at a friend’s house, the owner probably won’t rush to admit they’re responsible for your injuries. This can be frustrating, to say the least.
The good news is that you’re not in this fight alone. NST Law is ready to help you take a stand and demand accountability from a negligent property owner.
Our Knoxville personal injury lawyers have the experience and financial resources to build a compelling case and win the monetary award you need to get back on your feet.
When you choose NST Law, you’ll put a team of compassionate, trustworthy, and respected Tennessee litigators in your corner. We’re prepared to handle all aspects of your fight for compensation so you can focus on your recovery.
You’ll be able to count on our premises liability attorneys in Knoxville to do the following:
- Analyze accident reports, photographs and video footage, health code and safety violations, medical records, wage statements, insurance policies, and other evidence
- Interview the property owner, management, and any witnesses to the accident
- Conduct an exhaustive investigation of your accident
- Bring in experts and specialists to consult on your premises liability case
- Construct a persuasive legal claim proving the owner’s negligence
- Represent your best interests during settlement negotiations with the owner and their insurance company
As award-winning Tennessee trial attorneys, we thrive in the courtroom. We will never let you settle for less than your premises liability case is worth. The threat of litigation will always be on the table. If you don’t receive a fair deal, our team will be ready to bring your lawsuit to a Knoxville jury and fight to secure a life-changing verdict for your family.
What Is Premises Liability in Knoxville?
Premises liability laws in Tennessee protect you when you enter property owned or managed by someone else. Under these laws, property owners have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. If an owner is negligent in the care and maintenance of their property—allowing a hazardous condition to exist—they can be financially responsible for your injuries or the wrongful death of a family member.
The lengths an owner must go to keep you safe depends largely on your reason for visiting the premises.
There are three primary types of visitors under Tennessee premises liability law: invitee, licensee, and trespasser.
Invitee
Invitees are lawfully on another’s premises with the owner’s implied or express consent. Typically, the owner enjoys some benefit, such as a business-related interest, because of the invitee’s visit.Â
You would qualify as an invitee if you were:
- Dining at a local restaurant in Knoxville
- Filling your gas tank at a Knoxville convenience store and gas station
- Shopping at a Knoxville grocery store
- In the stands at a Vols football game
Under Tennessee law, property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care. Owners should inspect their premises regularly to find hazards or dangerous conditions. Once the owner knows or should know about a hazard, they must fix it or, at the very least, warn the invitee.
Licensee
Licensees are also lawfully on another’s premises with the owner’s implied or express consent. However, Licensees are visitors to the property with the property owner’s consent. However, the visitor is there for their own convenience or to advance their own interests, not for the owner’s interests.
You would be considered a licensee if you were:
- Visiting a friend’s house for a social call
- Going door-to-door trying to sell something
- Running into a local store to use the bathroom
Licensees are owed a lesser duty of care under Tennessee premises liability law. Property owners don’t have to inspect their premises but must fix hazards upon discovery or warn licensees about known threats to their safety.
Trespasser
A trespasser is an individual who enters or remains on another’s property without the owner’s consent. In Tennessee, property owners have no responsibility to protect trespassers from hazards on the premises. Owners must simply refrain from intentionally harming trespassers.
One exception is trespassing children when an attractive nuisance exists on the premises. An attractive nuisance is something so interesting that it would attract young children and potentially cause them harm. In Tennessee, an attractive nuisance must be man-made, not a natural object.
The best example of an attractive nuisance is a swimming pool. Pools can easily attract children and potentially cause serious bodily harm or death.
In Tennessee, owners must protect trespassing children from attractive nuisances. Sufficient precautions can be as simple as installing locks on gates, locking dangerous objects away in a shed, or putting up tall fencing around the premises.
What Do I Have to Prove to Win My Premises Liability Case?
Premises liability cases are a matter of negligence. When you file a premises liability lawsuit, you’re alleging that the owner’s failure to exercise reasonable care over their premises caused you to suffer an injury or the wrongful death of a family member.
To win your premises liability lawsuit, you’ll need to prove each of the following:
- You were lawfully on premises owned or operated by the defendant.
- A hazardous condition or danger existed on the premises.
- The owner knew or should have known of this danger but failed to fix or warn about it. Â
- The owner’s actions or failure to act directly caused your injury.
- You’ve suffered damages.
In other words, you have to demonstrate that you would not have suffered injury if the owner had maintained their premises in a reasonably safe condition. Their subpar maintenance allowed a hazard to exist, causing you to get hurt.
We Handle All Types of Premises Liability Cases in Knoxville, TN
At NST Law, we have 30+ years of experience advocating for clients injured in all types of premises liability matters, including:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Falls from heights
- Elevator and escalator accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Toxic exposure
- Dog bites
- Negligent security
- Assaults
- Sidewalk accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
- Amusement park accidents
Put our experience handling complex premises liability cases to work for you. Call our law office in Knoxville to discuss the details of your premises liability case today.Â
How Long Do I Have to File a Tennessee Premises Liability Lawsuit?
You have one year from the date of your accident or family member’s wrongful death to file a lawsuit seeking damages. Once the statute of limitations expires, you lose the chance to hold the negligent owner accountable.
Don’t wait until the time is about to run out to get started on your premises liability claim. In these situations, it’s important to get to work right away. Taking prompt action can prevent the owner from fixing the dangerous condition and allow you to preserve critical evidence.Â
The top-rated legal team at NST Law is always standing by to help whenever you need it most.
What Compensation Can I Recover In a Knoxville Premises Liability Claim?
Whether you slip and fall, are assaulted, or get bitten by a dog, the consequences can be costly. Fortunately, if your injury results from the owner’s negligence, you can file an insurance claim or lawsuit seeking an award of economic and non-economic damages.
Collectively known as compensatory damages, this can help you get money for the following:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing assistance
- Disability
- Lost wages
- Lost job opportunities
- Funeral expenses
- Chronic physical pain
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Emotional distress
The property owner and their insurance company will do everything possible to downplay the seriousness of your injuries. They’ll argue that the accident hasn’t substantially impacted your quality of life.Â
Our premises liability attorneys in Knoxville, TN, won’t let them dictate the terms of your case. We will construct a compelling legal case that proves the owner’s negligence and fully demonstrates how your life has changed since the accident. We’ll bring in experts and rely on their insight as we calculate the value of your premises liability case.
When it’s time to negotiate, the defendant will be forced to engage in meaningful settlement talks or risk going up against our successful litigators at trial.
Call Our Knoxville Premises Liability Attorneys For Help Today
Call NST Law if you’ve recently been injured on someone else’s property in Knoxville, Tennessee. You may be entitled to compensation, and our Knoxville premises liability lawyers can help you fight to get the top-dollar financial award you deserve.
Benefit from our 30+ years of experience and $2 billion in successful recoveries by calling our law office in Knoxville, TN, today.
Premises Liability FAQs
Premises liability cases can be complicated. It’s easy to understand why you’d have questions about your case or the legal process ahead of you. Our Knoxville premises liability attorneys have the answers you need.
Premises liability refers to an owner’s legal responsibility for a property’s unsafe conditions or hazards.
Personal liability refers to an individual’s legal responsibility for their reckless, negligent, or intentionally harmful actions.
There’s a chance that a property owner will attempt to blame you for getting hurt on their premises. They might say that the hazard was open or obvious or that your negligence contributed to the accident.Â
In Tennessee, sharing responsibility for an accident can directly impact your ability to recover compensation. Tennessee operates under a system of modified comparative negligence. The more liability you share, the less money you can receive in a settlement or jury award.Â
You can recover some compensation if you’re not 50 percent or more responsible for an accident.
There’s no out-of-pocket expense to hire an experienced Knoxville premises liability attorney from NST Law. At our law firm, we fight for our clients on a contingency fee basis.
We front the costs of your case, assume the risks of litigation, andonly get paid if your premises liability case is successful.
When we win, our fees come directly from your financial settlement or jury award.