Las Vegas Premises Liability Lawyer
What happens when you are injured on someone else’s property? In many cases, the property owner may be legally responsible for your damages. This is known as “premises liability,” and is most commonly associated with slip-and-fall accidents.
At Cameron Law, PLLC, our qualified Las Vegas premises liability lawyers can review your case and help you in obtaining compensation from a negligent property owner. Premises liability is a fairly complicated area of Nevada law. We can guide you through the process and work to recover any money you may be entitled to under the law.
How Do You Prove Premises Liability in Nevada?
Premises liability does not mean the owner is automatically responsible for every injury that occurs on their property. Rather, the injured party must prove three things in order to prevail in a personal injury case:
- There was a “dangerous condition” on the owner’s premises.
- The owner knew about this dangerous condition beforehand–or would have known had they exercised due diligence.
- The dangerous condition actually caused the victim’s injury.
In slip-and-fall cases, for instance, the dangerous condition is typically a puddle of water or other liquid on the floor. If the owner of a store fails to spot the puddle and clean it up, they can be held responsible if a customer slips on it and falls. But premises liability may extend to a whole host of other potentially dangerous conditions, such as insufficient lighting, falling objects, uneven carpets, open holes, and even negligent security.
While it might seem obvious to the victim that a property owner’s negligence led to their injury, in many cases the owner will try to shift blame. There are, in fact, a number of viable defenses to a premises liability claim, such as:
- The dangerous condition was “open and obvious,” so the victim should have been able to avoid it had they been paying attention.
- The victim was trespassing or in an area of the property that was not open to the public.
- The victim’s injuries were actually the result of third-party conduct–such as a criminal act–that the property owner could not have reasonably foreseen or prevented.
- The defendant did not actually own or have control over the property where the accident occurred.
Nevada follows a “comparative negligence” rule in all personal injury cases, including premises liability claims. This means that a property owner’s liability may be reduced or eliminated altogether if they can show the accident victim was partly at-fault for what happened.
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In a successful premises liability case, the victim is entitled to compensatory damages for their economic losses, including medical bills and lost wages. They can also recover non-economic damages for their pain and suffering. In some cases a property owner’s conduct may be so egregious that a court can award punitive damages as well.
Many accident victims do not take the time to fully understand the legal process or recognize the potential value of their case. This is where we can help. If you have been injured in an accident on someone else’s property and need to speak with a skilled Las Vegas premises liability lawyer, contact Cameron Law, PLLC, today to schedule a free initial consultation.
