Justice for Slip-and-Fall Injury Victims

Property Owner's Duty to Protect Visitors

In Arizona, a property owner owes a duty to ensure the safety of others while they are visiting the property owner’s home or business. If the property owner fails to ensure that the property is safe, the owner may be liable for any injuries and damages that result from the unsafe condition on the property.

An individual that is visiting a property will be characterized in one of three ways. Different duties are owed to an individual based upon the category that they fall under. The three categories and the duties owed to each category are as follows: 

• Discovered trespasser (this individual was not invited upon the land and may have entered the property illegally). A property owner owes a duty to protect a discovered trespasser from any artificial conditions that involve a risk of serious injury and the owner has to have actual knowledge of the artificial condition. An artificial condition is something that a person has “put on the land,” such as a structure, fence, stairs, etc.
• Licensee (this individual was not invited upon the land but is on the land for his or her own purpose, such as a door-to-door salesperson). A property owner owes a duty to protect a licensee from dangerous conditions that the owner is aware of on the land. This duty applies equally to artificial conditions and natural conditions. Again, the owner of the property must have actual knowledge of the dangerous condition. The extent of the risk of injury is immaterial. Social guests fall under this category.
• Invitee (this individual was invited upon the land by the owner for the owner’s own purpose). This is the most common situation when dealing with a premises liability case and this category is used for businesses open to the public (schools, supermarkets, stadiums, etc.). A property owner owes a duty to ensure the safety of individuals on the land from any and all dangerous conditions. Under this category, it does not matter if the owner has actual knowledge of the dangerous condition. If the owner should have known about the dangerous condition, then the owner is responsible for the resulting damages. An owner is obligated to make reasonable inspections of the property and either remove the dangerous condition or provide reasonable notice (give proper warning) of the dangerous condition to the invitee (if the dangerous condition cannot be removed).

An owner of property that fails to comply with his/her duty to make the property safe is liable for the resulting damages, which could include the cost of medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering (this is a simplified description of the possible range of damages).

Time is often of the essence when dealing with a premises liability case and if you do not act quickly enough, important evidence might be forever lost. In today’s age of technology, there may be video surveillance of the incident. Unfortunately, most video recordings are quickly recorded over or destroyed within 24 to 48 hours if a formal request to preserve such evidence is not timely delivered to the owner of the property.

If you were injured on someone else’s property and need to pursue a claim against the property owner, contact Shapiro Injury Law (Formerly know as Shapiro Law Group) for a free consultation. We will discuss the facts surrounding your case, determine the best way to handle your case, and take the necessary steps to preserve any evidence needed to prove your case and maximize your recovery. 



Slip-and-Fall Verdicts and Settlements

• $1 million: Our client was injured in a fall due to an apartment complex's poorly lit pool area
• $82,000: Our client was injured in a fall caused by a supermarket's wet floor
• $65,000: Our client's injuries were caused by dangerous conditions in an art gallery
  

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