Were you injured while visiting someone else’s property in Richmond Heights, MO? Property owners can be held liable when they’re negligent and fail to keep their property reasonably safe for invited visitors. An experienced Richmond Heights premises liability lawyer at Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers can explain your legal options and fight for the full compensation you deserve.
We’re prepared to put over 30 years of experience to work for you. We’ve already helped our injured clients recover over $70 million in settlements and verdicts.
You may deserve compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more. Contact our law offices in Richmond Heights, Missouri, at (314) 207-4399 to schedule a free consultation to learn more about this area of law.
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How Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With Your Richmond Heights Premises Liability Claim
You have enough to worry about after getting hurt. The added stress of an insurance battle and lawsuit is the last thing you need. Hiring an experienced Richmond Heights personal injury lawyer can make your life a lot easier.
Insurance companies often give victims the runaround. They’ll delay paying your settlement or offer a quick deal that doesn’t account for your losses. Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers can help.
Our AV-rated lawyers have also been recognized with a Perfect “10” on Avvo and an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau.
Our experienced lawyers will:
- Gather evidence to establish your right to compensation
- Protect you when the property owner tries to blame you for getting hurt
- Identify all parties who share responsibility for your damages
- Consult with respected experts as we analyze and build your case
- Calculate your case value and reject any lowball settlement deals
- Negotiate with the insurance companies and at-fault parties on your behalf
Are you ready to start fighting for fair compensation? Call our Richmond Heights personal injury attorneys or use our online contact form for a free case review today.
What Is Premises Liability?
When you visit someone else’s property, you shouldn’t have to worry about getting injured due to hidden dangers.
Missouri premises liability laws hold property owners liable for injuries caused by unreasonably dangerous property conditions. All property owners have a legal duty to maintain their property in reasonably safe condition when they allow others onto the premises. Owners can be liable when invited visitors, guests, and customers are injured due to unsafe property conditions.
What Do I Have To Prove To Recover Compensation Under Missouri Premises Liability Laws?
Property owners aren’t automatically liable for every injury that happens on their premises. You must prove that the property owner was negligent to recover damages.
To establish negligence, you must produce evidence to establish:
- The property owner’s legal duty of care
- A breach of duty happened
- The breach caused some type of harm
- The damages you suffered as a result
The scope of a property owner’s duty depends on why you were visiting the property. There are three classes of visitors:
- Business invitees
- Licensees
- Trespassers
Your ability to recover compensation often depends on how you are classified under Missouri law.
Business Invitees
Invitees enter an establishment with some type of profit motivation. That’s true whether the owner invited you onto the property or whether the property is open to the general public.
For example, you’re classified as an invitee when you visit:
- Restaurants and bars
- Grocery stores
- Shopping centers
- Sports and entertainment complexes
- Rental apartment buildings and complexes
- Parking garages
- Office buildings
- Government buildings
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Hotels
- Amusement parks
The bottom line is that you are on the property due to the business owner’s profit. Business owners owe the highest duty of care to customers and guests.
They must:
- Conduct routine property inspections to identify hidden dangers
- Fix hazardous conditions that they know about or reasonably should know about
- Provide adequate warning about hazards that can’t be fixed immediately
The exact scope of the owner’s duty depends on what is reasonable under the circumstances. For example, if criminal activity is reasonably foreseeable, businesses can be responsible for failure to provide adequate security under Missouri law.
Licensees
Licensees enter someone else’s premises for non-business purposes. When you visit a friend’s house for dinner, you’re classified as a licensee.
Trespassers
Trespassers enter a property without permission. Property owners generally do not owe a duty of care to trespassers except in rare circumstances.
An exception does exist for trespassing children, for instance. If a trespassing child is harmed due to an attractive nuisance on the property, the owner may be held liable if they knew, or should have known about the danger. This exception is designed to protect kids who are too young to appreciate the risk of injury or death.
Our Lawyers in Richmond Heights Handle All Types of Premises Liability Claims
At Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers, we’re here to represent you regardless of how you were hurt.
We often handle premises liability cases involving:
- Negligent security, which can allow assault and sexual assault to occur
- Poisonings and toxic exposure
- Bed bugs
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Falls from heights
- Falling objects
- Elevator or escalator accidents
- Swimming pool accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Construction site accidents
- Fires or explosions
- Exposure to live electricity
- Inadequate property maintenance
If you were hurt, don’t hesitate to reach out to our lawyers in Richmond Heights today. We’ll review your case for free, so there’s no risk.
How Much Is My Richmond Heights Premises Liability Case Worth?
Your case value depends on many different things, including:
- The type and severity of your injuries
- Whether you will make a full recovery or suffer a long-term impairment
- The cost of your medical treatment
- The nature of the property owner’s acts or omissions
- The level of physical and emotional suffering you experience
- Whether you share any blame for your injuries
You will have to produce evidence about the types of damages you have suffered to establish your case value. Our lawyers are here to help. We’ll work closely with you, your family, and your doctors. The better we understand how the injury has impacted your life, the more likely it is that we’ll recover every available dollar.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims in a Successful Premises Liability Case?
You can seek compensation for your financial costs and your pain and suffering. These damages are called economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages should put you back in the financial position you occupied before the accident.
These damages may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Nursing care
- Property damage
- Miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses
Non-economic damages make up for the physical and emotional trauma you have suffered, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Embarrassment
- PTSD
- Physical disfigurement and scarring
- Damage to your reputation
- Loss of consortium
Our lawyers will work closely with experts and specialists as we evaluate your personal injury law claim. Our goal is to get you the maximum compensation available.
Can I Recover Damages if I’m Being Blamed for Causing My Own Injuries in Missouri?
Insurance companies and defense lawyers commonly try to blame victims for getting hurt. When they succeed, they can reduce the amount of compensation you’re owed. However, you won’t necessarily lose your right to damages entirely unless you are 100% responsible.
Missouri follows a pure comparative negligence law. During the negotiation process, each responsible party is assigned a percentage of fault. Your settlement or verdict will be reduced by your percentage of fault. An attorney can work to ensure you aren’t assigned more responsibility than is fair.
Our Richmond Heights Premises Liability Attorneys Will Fight To Recover Compensation for All of Your Injuries
When you’re injured, every aspect of your life can become a struggle.
Contact our lawyers today if you have suffered:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Head or neck injuries
- Crushing injuries
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Nerve injuries
- Lung damage
- Soft tissue damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Concussions
- Back injuries
- Organ damage
- Amputations
- Paralysis
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death of a loved one
These types of injuries can have both immediate and long-term consequences. Victims often struggle with emotional trauma in addition to their physical injuries. Regardless of the facts, it’s always important to recover the fair compensation you deserve.
How Long Do I Have To File a Premises Liability Lawsuit After an Accident in Missouri?
In Missouri personal injury cases, there is a five-year statute of limitations. You have five years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit for damages.
Five years seems like a long time. However, you shouldn’t wait that long to get legal advice. The sooner you take legal action, the better your chances of recovering full compensation.
Call a Richmond Heights Premises Liability Lawyer for a Free Initial Consultation Today
If you were injured in an accident on someone else’s property, contact Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers at (314) 207-4399 today and Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers. An experienced Richmond Heights premises liability lawyer can help you understand your legal options. When you hire our law firm, you can rest assured that an experienced advocate is fighting tirelessly for fair compensation.
