Representing Victims Injured on Someone Else’s Property in Monmouth County and throughout New Jersey
New Jersey law requires property owners, whether they are business owners or private individuals, to keep their property reasonably safe from dangerous conditions. New Jersey Premises Liability Law governs the obligations of property owners to maintain the safety of their premises and provides legal recourse for injured victims to obtain compensation. If you are injured on someone else’s property due to the negligence of a property owner, you may have a specific type of personal injury claim against them known as a premises liability claim. If you are seeking to recover compensation for injuries incurred because of dangerous conditions on a property, or because you lost a loved one because of a property owner’s failure to maintain the safety of the premises, you should seek knowledgeable legal counsel as soon as possible.
The team of experienced New Jersey Premises Liability Attorneys at our firm can help if you want to pursue a lawsuit against a property owner. We regularly represent clients who suffer injuries ranging from broken bones to spine injuries on Monmouth County, Ocean County, Atlantic County, and Mercer County properties and throughout New Jersey. Speaking with a lawyer about your potential premises liability claim is the first step toward understanding your rights and legal options. We are available anytime to provide you with a free consultation so call 732-825-6120 today. A member of our team will answer all of your specific questions and if you so choose, fight aggressively for maximum damages in your case.
What is a Premises Liability Lawsuit in New Jersey?
Premises liability law holds property owners responsible for the injuries sustained on their properties if the property was negligently maintained, unsafe in some way, or because a hazardous condition present at the time was not addressed. As a person venturing to another person or party’s property in New Jersey, you expect that the property owner will prevent or deal with safety concerns that may threaten your ability to avoid being injured while on the property. If you are on someone else’s property and the property owner’s negligence results in you suffering injuries, you may be entitled to monetary compensation in the form of damages. In order to obtain compensation from the property owner for your injuries, you will need to file a premises liability lawsuit.
To prove a premises liability claim, you must establish that the offending landowner or business owner had a duty to keep their premises or property reasonably safe from foreseeable hazardous conditions, the owner failed to prevent or address a present danger, and the fact that the owner kept the property in a negligently unsafe condition caused an injury to you. Contractors working on a property and customers visiting a property can all potentially raise premises liability claims based on negligence.
Accidents that Lead to Premises Liability Claims
The term premises liability may sound foreign to you, but the accidents that give rise to these claims are almost all well-known. If a grocery store fails to clean up spills on the floor and you trip and injure yourself, if a business owner fails to salt or remove ice from their property, if a warehouse fails to install safety railings near stairways and you fall and hurt yourself, if a business catches fire or releases toxic fumes due to negligent maintenance and you suffer as a result, you may have a premises liability claim under New Jersey law.
Common grounds for premises liability claims include:
- Injuries in parking lots
- Accidents in grocery stores and other retail establishments
- Injuries suffered by tenants in apartment buildings, rental homes, and commercial properties
- Attacks and injuries caused by inadequate security
- Injuries on a premises resulting from falling objects
- Workplace accidents and construction site injuries
- Dog bites and attacks on someone else’s property
- Drowning and injuries in swimming pools
- Lead paint poisoning, most often affecting children
Can I Obtain Compensation for Injuries on Someone’s Property?
If you win a premises liability case in New Jersey, you may be entitled to both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include lost wages if you were hurt and had to take time off work or lost your job as a result of the injury. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering damages. Finally, you may be able to also recover punitive damages if the property owner’s conduct was willful or wanton; for example, if the owner had known of the hazardous condition on the property for some time, but never repaired it even though it posed an obvious hazard to life and limb.
Some of the items you may obtain compensation for in a premises liability lawsuit include:
- Costs of your medical treatment related to the injury, including previous medical expenses and the cost of ongoing care
- Lost income while out of work
- Reduced earning potential due to permanent disability
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of companionship if a loved one died because of a property owner’s negligence
An experienced premises liability lawyer can evaluate the potential damages available to you based on the specific facts of your case.
*It is important to note that you have limited time to file a premises liability claim in New Jersey. The statute of limitations for injuries on someone else’s property is two years from the date of the accident. In certain rare cases, the time limit may be extended slightly to reflect the date upon which you become aware of the injuries you sustained.
Does it Matter what I was Doing on the Property when I was Injured?
You should be aware that different types of visitors to property have different legal statuses under New Jersey premises liability law, and that status can affect the duty that a property owner owes to you. Certain individuals that the property owner solicited or invited to visit the property, such as a customer shopping or browsing in a store, are known as “invitees.” An owner owes this type of visitor the highest duty of care and must protect them from or warn them about even hidden defects in the property.
An individual who is not buying from an owner but who is legally on the property, for example a social guest, is owed a slightly lower duty of care. However, a property owner must warn these individuals, known as “licensees,” about known dangerous conditions associated with the property. In other words, if a temporary situation creates a safety hazard, a person with licensee status must be notified of the safety hazard and the property owner must address it in a timely manner.
Finally, a person trespassing on property is owed the lowest duty of care in a premises liability case. If a person trespasses on a property where they are not legally allowed to be, the property owner must avoid intentionally or reckless harming the trespasser but does not owe the duties discussed above.
Contact a Monmouth County Premises Liability Lawyer Today
If you or someone you love has been injured on another person’s property in New Jersey, call now to speak with an experienced NJ Premises Liability Lawyer who can help. Our firm represents clients in premises injury lawsuits and other personal injury actions across the state. We have been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Associated and featured in publications like Super Lawyers Magazine because we are dedicated to providing superior representation. Our small firm focus is based on a commitment to giving the maximum effort to each client’s case. Call 732-825-6120 for a free consultation and contact us online to schedule an appointment at our local Monmouth County office for a free case evaluation.
