If you are injured on someone else’s property, you may have a premises liability claim against the property owner if the injury was due to wrongdoing or negligence on the owner’s part.
However, more than one party may be responsible for your injury. Other potentially liable parties include a property manager, a tenant, a work crew, a security company, or someone whose intentional, criminal actions caused your injuries while on the property.
Let’s look at an example from The Office to help better understand these ideas.
In an episode of The Office called “Safety Training,” the office workers go to observe the safety training in the warehouse.
Darryl, standing with the help of crutches, conducts the training. The scene cuts to Darryl explaining to the viewer:
Darryl: We do safety training every year or after an accident. [pause] We’ve never made it a full year. This particular time, I was reaching for a supply box on the top shelf, when one office worker, who shall remain nameless, kicked the ladder out from under me and yelled . . .
[cut to Michael]
Michael: [laughing hysterically] Hey, Darryl, how’s it hanging?
Darryl: And I fell and busted my ankle. I’m legitimately scared for my workers.
Now, in this example, Darryl was at work when he was injured, so he may not be able to file a premises liability claim. However, if the accident was caused by an unsafe building element, he may have a claim against the property owner or property manager.
Let’s say Darryl was walking down a staircase in a common area of the property. When commercial buildings have multiple tenants, the common areas (lobby, hallways, staircases) are generally the responsibility of the property owner (or property manager). If the stairs were improperly maintained, or defective, and that caused Darryl to fall and get hurt then he may have a premises liability claim. Another example would be if the bathroom facilities for the office were shared by multiple tenants and maintained and serviced by the property owner (or property manager). If the bathrooms were improperly cleaned and Darryl slipped and fell or if something in the bathroom was leaking and Darryl slipped and fell then he may have a premises liability claim.
In this instance, there is no evidence that the shelving or any other condition of the property caused Darryl’s fall. It seems pretty clear that Michael intended to push him, so he would be hanging from the shelf, so he could use his joke. This is evidenced by Michael laughing really hard about it, even after Darryl is hurt.
Darryl may very likely have a workers’ compensation claim. But because Darryl’s injury does not appear to have been caused by an unsafe element in the building, he does not appear to have a viable premises liability claim.
Many factors determine if you have a viable claim or not. That is why it is important to contact the experienced premises liability lawyers at Aversa & Linn immediately after an injury, to discuss your ability to pursue a claim.
