From slip and fall claims to cases involving negligent security, premises liability laws cover a range of accidents occurring on someone else’s property. There are limits and guidelines on who can be held liable and when, and what compensation might be owed.
If you’ve been injured in an accident on someone else’s property, you may be owed compensation under Louisiana’s personal injury laws for property owners. Keep reading to learn more about Louisiana premises liability laws and your legal rights.
Louisiana premises liability laws hold property owners accountable for accidents caused by their negligence or recklessness. The basic argument for holding property owners liable has four parts: duty, breach, causation, and damages:
a. Duty of Care – You will need to prove that the property owners owed you a certain level of care and safety.
b. Breach of Duty – You must prove that the property owners breached their duty of care by failing to address or warn you about potential hazards.
c. Causation – You must prove that this breach of reasonable care caused your accident.
d. Actual Damages – You must prove the existence and extent of your damages.
While that might seem like a relatively simple argument, the truth is that each step can include a range of factors that need to be considered and met. For premises liability in particular, Louisiana law lays out strict guidelines for what type of care is owed to different visitors and the rules for establishing breach of duty of care. A Louisiana premises liability lawyer can help you understand your options.
All visitors are owed a duty of care by Louisiana property owners, though that responsibility is much lower for those who enter the property without permission. The three recognized classifications for visitors are invitees, licensees, and trespassers:
Invitees are people who are either explicitly or implicitly invited onto the property. This includes people visiting places that are open to the public and those visiting public properties for business purposes. Service workers are also often included in this category.
Owners owe invitees the highest level of care, including maintaining a reasonably safe environment, conducting regular and reasonable inspections for hazards, and taking steps to address unsafe conditions.
The next group of visitors includes those with express or implied invitations to the property who visit the property for their own purposes. This can include friends, family members, and social guests.
While owners must warn licensees about known dangerous conditions that are not obvious, they are not required to inspect for unknown hazards.
Trespassers are exactly what they sound like: people who enter someone else’s property without the owner’s permission, license, or invitation. This includes people who enter the property illegally.
Property owners owe the lowest level of care to trespassers, but the law does recognize one responsibility: property owners must not knowingly set traps or create wanton hazards for trespassers. This can include swimming pool accident cases where pools were not properly secured.
Another key aspect of Louisiana laws on premises liability is their guidelines for establishing property owners’ negligence and breach of duty of care for invitees. Commercial property owners, also known as merchants, can be held liable for accidents related to dangerous conditions if those conditions posed an unreasonable risk, if they knew or should have known about the danger, and if they failed to address that danger. These rules for merchants are laid out under Louisiana Revised Statute 9:2800.6, and often impact slip and fall claims.
A key part of proving a breach of duty of care is establishing that the dangerous condition that caused your accident actually posed an unreasonable risk. You must provide evidence, such as photos and witness statements, that a reasonable person would not have expected or been able to easily avoid the danger. For example, an owner may be able to avoid liability if they can prove that the danger was open and obvious.
In order to prove that the property owner actually breached their duty of care, you must also establish that they had actual or constructive notice of the hazardous condition that led to your accident. In other words, property owners can only be held liable if they knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. While actual notice means that the property owner knew about the hazard, constructive notice means that the owner should have known about the hazard.
The last step to prove negligence and breach of duty of care is to establish that the property owner failed to address the danger in your case. Property owners are typically required to exercise reasonable care to respond to hazardous conditions. Addressing the danger can include either fixing the problem or providing sufficient warning to visitors.
Each part of proving liability for premises accidents can be complex and difficult, but a Louisiana premises liability attorney can help you establish the property owners’ legal responsibility for your suffering.
There are a few potential deadlines that could affect your ability to recover compensation for a premises liability accident: insurance claim filing deadlines and the statute of limitations. Most premises liability injury claims will be paid out by property insurance companies. Deadlines on these claims are laid out in the property owner’s policy rather than being dictated by Louisiana law. You may have a short window for both reporting the accident and seeking compensation.
If you have any trouble with your insurance claim or the property owner is uninsured, you may need to file a premises liability lawsuit to seek compensation. In these cases, your legal action will be subject to a deadline known as the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations on Louisiana premises liability cases is two years. That means you will typically have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit for premises injuries. If you miss the filing deadline, you may be barred from ever pursuing compensation for the case through legal action.
Keep in mind that this deadline recently changed: for accidents that occurred before July 1, 2024, the deadline was only one year from the date of the accident, meaning the statute of limitations for these cases has already passed.
Another important aspect of Louisiana premises law is the compensation requirements it lays out for liable parties. Under the law, negligent property owners may be liable for all of the damages caused by their negligence. While there are no specific compensation requirements, the law recognizes three primary types of damages for premises liability: economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. While economic and non-economic damages are meant to compensate for victims’ losses, punitive damages serve as a punishment for extreme wrongdoing by property owners.
A few of the most common types of losses covered by premises liability personal injury claims include:
A premises liability accident can cause serious injuries, often leading to extensive medical treatment and suffering. Getting help from a capable personal injury attorney can improve your likelihood of making a successful claim for full compensation.
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall incident or other premises liability accident, getting help from an attorney is typically in your best interest. Even if you don’t have to take legal action, at least consulting with an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you determine the right path forward for your case.
Here at Cardone Law Firm, we’re proud to help premises injury victims fight for justice and fair settlements. We rely on an in-depth understanding of Louisiana premises liability and personal injury law to build strong cases on our clients’ behalf. From gathering evidence like maintenance records and incident reports to representing you in a court of law, we’ll do what it takes to reach a satisfactory outcome in your case.
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