How Does Premise Liability Define an Invitee?
Premise liability is legal jargon for sustaining physical bodily harm on another entity’s property. The entity could be a business or a private residence. Essentially, property owners have a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe so that others that enter into them have minimized risk of suffering injuries and harm. When determining liability for injuries on a property, who is injured and the reason that the person was on the property matter.
For example, in Florida, children fall into the attractive nuisance doctrine. Meaning, children cannot be expected to know how the law works. If they see something on a property that is interesting they may naturally have the impulse to go over to it because they do not have the foresight like adults do, to know that they could get hurt. Pools are common examples of this. So, pool owners should have protections around their pool that a child would be unable to get through.
For those who were injured on another entity’s property, securing compensation for damages suffered is important. Fulgencio Law has the Tampa premise liability lawyers that can help.
What is an Invitee?
In terms of premise liability parties that enter onto another entity’s property can be either deemed invitees, licensees, or trespassers. For the purposes of this article, the focus will be on what an invitee is.
Invitees are those parties who are directly asked or summoned to come onto another entity’s property. Because of this, Florida premise liability laws grant invitees the highest level of protection.
Invitees can be one of two types.
- The first is a public invitee which is a public person invited onto a public property that is open for public use.
- The second is a business invitee which is a person who is invited onto a business’s property to directly engage with the business. An illustration of this would be if you were to go to your local grocery store to go food shopping. You are invited into the business by the grocery store ownership so that you can purchase their products. The grocery store benefits from your purchases.
Premise liability situations can happen by people categorized as a type of invitee or they can take place with those considered a licensee or a trespasser. The designation of the individual matters when it comes to filing a claim for compensation. Though, most of these claims are typically brought by people who are considered an invitee.
There is a duty of care that property owners must afford invitees. One is to maintain their property so that it is reasonably safe and that any hazards that could exist that the owner should know about be addressed. Also, if a peril is present, the owner must let invitees know so they can minimize their risk of being harmed.
Speak with a Tampa Premise Liability Attorney Today
Victims of premise liability accidents in Florida have just four years to file a Florida premise liability claim for compensation. Failure to do so within this established statute of limitations can eliminate a victim’s ability to secure compensation for their damages. To learn more, please call the Tampa personal injury attorneys at Fulgencio Law to schedule a free consultation at (813) 463-0123.
