Attorney Referrals

Michigan Premises Liability Lawyer

premises liability lawyer

Preventable injuries happen every day, and no one is immune. If you sustain injuries due to unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, you have legal options available. Premises liability law protects injured victims and allows them to pursue financial compensation for their preventable injuries. Landlords and property owners should be held responsible for hazardous conditions on their property. A premises liability lawyer from Lipton Law can help.

At Lipton Law, our Michigan personal injury attorneys have the knowledge and experience to help you. We can hold negligent property owners responsible for your injuries and fight for fair compensation. Call us today at (248) 557-1688 to schedule your free consultation.

Michigan Premises Liability Law

michigan premises liability law

Michigan premises liability law holds property owners responsible for ensuring that their premises are safe and secure. When property owners and managers fail to maintain these properties, severe injuries can result. Michigan premises liability law can be complicated, so having a competent legal team on your side can be a major help. Premises liability law has two key components: standard of care and comparative negligence.

Standard of Care

In Michigan, premises liability law classifies the standard of care based on the visitor. In general, property owners have a duty to maintain reasonably safe premises. When property owners fail to keep their property safe, they are liable for the resulting injuries. Property owners have different standards of care to meet with each visitor. Visitors can be an invitee, licensee, or a trespasser.

An invitee is anyone on a property to conduct business. When you go to a doctor’s appointment or run errands, you are an invitee on those properties. A property or business owner owes the highest standard of care to invitees. Owners should perform routine inspections to maintain their property and warn invitees about known dangers, such as a wet floor.

A licensee has permission to be on someone’s property, but not for a commercial purpose. This includes any invited social guests. Owners should fix dangerous premises and warn licensees about known hazards.

A trespasser is someone who does not have permission to be on the premises. Property owners cannot knowingly harm trespassers. This includes setting traps for trespassers, also known as ‘booby traps.’ Property owners are not usually responsible for compensating injuries for trespasser’s injuries, but some exceptions can apply.

Comparative Negligence

In some cases, property managers and their defense team may try to argue that you are fully or partly responsible for your injuries. They may argue that you didn’t take necessary precautions or were impaired in some way.

Juries are the only ones who can decide on comparative negligence. If the jury finds that you are less than 50% responsible for your injuries, the negligent property owner will still have to pay at least 50% of the court award. If you are found 10% responsible, the property owner will have to pay 90% of the verdict award. Because many of these cases settle out of court, most accident victims do not have to experience this aspect of personal injury law. If your lawsuit does go to trial, you can rest assured that the knowledgeable personal injury lawyers at Lipton Law can help.

Open and Obvious Dangers

Property managers and business owners are not responsible for injuries if they were caused by an “open and obvious” hazard. This is any hazard that an average member of the public could see and avoid. Tripping over spilled items in a grocery aisle, for example, would be an open and obvious danger.

If you were injured on a premise and the owner is trying to claim an open and obvious hazard defense, contact an experienced premises liability lawyer from Lipton Law today. We can perform a thorough investigation to determine the cause and liability of the injury.

Types of Premises Liability Cases We Handle

types of premises liability cases

A property owner’s duty is to maintain a safe and functioning environment for their visitors. Injuries and fatalities that are caused by unsafe conditions on another person’s property are tragic incidents that are completely preventable. When property owners fail to maintain their property, you can sustain life-changing injuries.

Some of the premises liability cases we handle include:

If you have sustained injuries due to a property owner’s negligence, contact the premises liability attorneys at Lipton Law today.

Types of Premises Liability Injuries

premises liability injuries

A slip and fall on any surface can cause bumps and bruises, but serious falls can lead to more severe injuries. Broken bones and cuts can be painful and lead to time away from work. Severe injuries can even lead to expensive surgeries and chronic pain.

Brain injuries often have a significant impact on memory, sleep, and mood. Severe brain injuries can cause complete personality changes and even end in paralysis.

Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injuries often change a victim’s life permanently. Catastrophic injuries can lead to permanent disability. Any injury can be catastrophic if it leads to lasting consequences. Examples of catastrophic injuries include:

If you have sustained injuries from an unsafe property, take legal action to recover compensation. The experienced attorneys at Lipton Law are ready for your call. We can go over the details of your case with a free case evaluation and see if you can pursue a premises liability lawsuit.

How Can a Premises Liability Attorney Help?

premises liability attorney

Having an experienced legal team by your side can make sure your rights are protected and you can focus on healing. Premises liability laws can be overwhelming. You have to be ready to prove that the property owner is legally responsible for your injuries, and this can be taxing if you’re also trying to recover from your injuries. At Lipton Law, we can handle all the paperwork for you. While we work on determining liability and calculating damages, you can work on getting better.

Proving Premises Liability

Like personal injury cases, premises liability cases require that you prove your injuries were caused by another party’s negligence. You and your legal team must prove that a property owner breached their duty of care to provide a safe environment.

Premises Liability Damages

We will explore all available options to help you receive compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost earnings, and other damages. The compensation you may claim in a premises liability case depends on the severity of the accident and the injuries sustained. In Michigan, you can pursue three types of damages: economic, noneconomic, and exemplary. In severe cases where the accident ended in a fatality, surviving family members can pursue a wrongful death lawsuit.

Economic damages are intended to return an accident victim to the same financial status they had before the accident. These are compensatory damages that include:

  • Lost wages
  • Medical bills
  • Physical therapy
  • Lost income potential

Noneconomic damages are harder to quantify than economic damages. These damages compensate a victim for physical and emotional losses. These damages include:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental anguish
  • Loss of enjoyment in life

Michigan does not allow punitive damages to punish the negligent party, but the law does allow exemplary damages. A jury may award exemplary damages if the property owner knew their property had an unsafe or defective condition and did nothing about it. The jury may also award exemplary damages if the victim suffered extensive injuries.

Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability Cases

premises liability statute of limitations michigan

Michigan law sets a strict deadline for premises liability claims. The statute of limitations for premises liability cases is three years. This means you have three years from the date of injury to pursue compensation for your injuries. This may sound like you have plenty of time to rest and recover before worrying about paperwork and lawyers, but this is often not the case. Evidence degrades over time, and property managers can fix or get rid of the hazard that caused your injury.

If you are pursuing compensation for an injury sustained on government property, claims must be filed within 120 days. This is a very short amount of time to get your bearings after an accident.

Begin an attorney-client relationship with a skilled personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. At Lipton Law, we can do all the heavy lifting while you focus on recovering.

Premises Liability FAQs

While you can navigate this complicated legal claim by yourself, it’s highly unadvised. A qualified personal injury lawyer can make sure you can focus on healing instead of fighting with insurance companies. Premises liability attorneys at Lipton Law can support you during this overwhelming time and make sure you get all the help you need.

Premises liability lawsuits can settle quickly or drag on for years, depending on the details surrounding the incident. If both sides of the suit are open to settling, this can happen in as little as three months. If the negligent party refuses to settle for a fair amount, the case can go to trial. Once in trial, a lawsuit can take several years to resolve. In some cases, this is the best option to get the compensation you deserve.

Most cases will have the property owner liable for any premises liability claims. It usually comes down to the person or company responsible for maintaining the property. Property owners can be any number of people, including:

  • Landlords
  • Homeowners
  • Rental property management companies
  • Government entities
  • A restaurant or business owner
  • A big box store/corporation

If you have been injured due to unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, it’s smart to begin gathering evidence as soon as possible. Take photos of the scene and your injuries. Make sure to see your doctor as soon as possible and let them know how you sustained the injury. At Lipton Law, our attorneys can take care of filing the necessary reports and helping you gather evidence. Contact an attorney as soon as you can to preserve as much evidence as possible.

It’s hard to put an exact number on a settlement. The details are different in every case. It also depends on whether you settle out of court or go to trial and receive a jury verdict award. The severity of your injuries and the type of liability claim have the most impact on the final award. Minor injuries against homeowners will often settle for significantly less than catastrophic injuries against big-box retailers. You can trust that the attorneys at Lipton Law will fight for the maximum amount of compensation available in your case.

Experienced Michigan Premises Liability Lawyers

michigan premises liability lawyers

Proving liability in a Michigan premises liability case requires extensive knowledge and experience. At Lipton Law, we can help you recover the compensation you deserve after a preventable accident. Our lawyers have over 100 years of combined personal injury experience, so you can be certain that our law firm will handle your case effectively. If you or a loved one is suffering from a premises liability accident in Michigan, contact Lipton Law today.

To find out how we can help you obtain compensation for your injuries from a negligent property owner, contact us online or call our office in Southfield at (248) 557-1688 today.