When a brick-and-mortar business opens its doors to guests, there is an inherent commitment on the part of the business to provide a measure of safety. It’s simple, there is a duty of care to prevent injury and harm from occurring on its premises. Personal injury law provides, however, that in order to do that, when there is a circumstance or situation on the premises that proves dangerous to guests, the owner, their staff or representative(s) must be aware of it (or at least have ample opportunity to become aware it). For instance, should a spill occur in a hotel restaurant walkway and a guest slip and fall, injuring themselves in the process, it’s not necessarily the owner’s responsibility to remunerate the injured party simply because the spill was present. If the spill had only occurred minutes before the fall, there might night have been sufficient occasion for the owners or staff to be made aware of the danger.
Premies liability awards are typically made based on the claim of neglect. So when an injury occurs due to circumstances at a business, for instance, it’s important to establish that staff were first aware of the danger and failed to act to prevent injury in order to prove neglect. It’s not enough to prove that the danger existed.
Likewise, when a potential danger exists, should the owner provide adequate warning, signage, deterrence to prevent injury, and the guest suffers injury nonetheless, a claim of negligence may not be a given. Say, for instance, a guest at a hotel is injured in a pool that is not manned by staff. As long as there is adequate signage that warns guests of the dangers inherent in swimming in a pool that is not manned by a lifeguard, there may be no liability on the part of hotel staff or ownership should an accident occur.
Based on a duty of care to those on the premises, businesses have a responsibility to prevent accidents from occurring. That does not rest solely on their ability to keep the facilities from ever presenting dangers to their guests. It can also certainly be satisfied by presenting adequate warning when a dangerous situation occurs.
If a guest spills food in a hotel lobby and staff sets up a safety hazard sign while they secure the necessary time and equipment to clean up the spill, that can satisfy their duty of care to their guests. Should a guest ignore the sign and fall and injure themselves, nonetheless, courts may find management is not, in fact, responsible for those injuries.
There is a personal responsibility each and every individual has in ensuring their own safety. That is often recognized by courts, so in many circumstances, adequate warning of dangerous situations may be enough to abate liability should an accident occur.
Still, these situations can be difficult to parse. So it’s very important that should you suffer injury in an accident on the premises of a business or even an individual, speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney is the best course of action to determine your options for recovering damages in your case.
The personal injury attorneys at Bizzieri Law Offices in Chicago have ample experience winning large awards for their clients in a wide array of personal injury claims and can review your case and help determine whether or not your claim is valid and what kind of damages you may be entitled to. Call 773.881.9000 today to speak with an attorney and get the compensation you deserve.
Recent Comments