Business Law: Premises Liability
Business Law: Premises Liability
Introduction
Accidents that occur because of the negligent operations, design, maintenance of a property owned by someone other than the accident victim are known as ‘Premises Liability’. Premises Liability covers claims against the owner or landlord against or on behalf of a tenant the landlord for injuries suffered by the victim who was lawfully on the property (Heinonline.org, 2014). Additionally, it may include a huge range of event which cause injury or might give rise to liability. A fall and a slip because of a defective or wet floor might be actionable against a landlord or a landowner. Moreover, an organization may also be held at fault for the maintenance of a property. Claims against, a contractor is accountable for cleaning a property or the removal of snow or ice is the other examples of Premise Liability. Besides, claims against a landlord or landowner for poor lightening, inappropriate security, or the failure to maintain porches, railings or stairs properly are also common. Annually, more than one million people trip or fall and suffer injury, also more than 16,000 die resulting from such falls. In the United States 25,000 fall or slip accidently on daily basis (Miller & Jentz, 2011).
Discussion
The court in the commercial context considers if the owner practices some sort of control over the defect which cause injury, for example, the place where the lease specifies which it was the responsibility of landlord to maintain or repair the aspects which caused injury, even if it is totally inside the leased premises of the landlord. The landlord absent such control, court does not find liability. Landlords, therefore, at times find themselves as defendants in case of premises liability (Heinonline.org, 2014).
An identification of the scope of the duty is taken into consideration over the status of the individual injured, what comprises ‘reasonable care’, and what risks are ‘foreseeable’. The accountability owned to person off the premises could be summarized as a responsibly of reasonable care to no to permit some activity or condition on the premise for injuring them. Someone being injured by ice or snow falling on them when they traverse a public way is a common example case example.
For landlords the best way to avoid possible losses from harming related to repair and maintenance is to keep their property well maintained. Additionally, they should encourage the employees and tenants to indicate any safety or security issues instantaneously. Showing the kept record of all the reports and thaw at the concerns were solved will assist the tenants and building safe (Miller & Jentz, 2011).
Majority of the workers who are compensated by the compensation system of the organization cannot sue their employers with the claims of premise liability that they have been harmed or injured at their workstations (Miller & Jentz, 2011). According to the US law, these employees can only file for a compensation for worker to recover the damages (Miller & Jentz, 2011).
Conclusion
The owners of property have the legal obligation to offer safety to their visitors, customers, shoppers and tenants. This accountability, according to the US law is ground on the principle that landlords have control over the safety of their property and its premises unlike the employees or workers. Landlords cannot entirely insulate themselves from risks of liability from the little the tenant moves in, however an exhaustive programs of risk management which cover litigation strategies, drafted leases, insurance , and security audits can assist reduce the risks.
References
Heinonline.org,. (2014). 19 Rutgers Law Review 1964-1965 Products Liability under Parallel Doctrines: Contrasts between the Uniform Commercial Code and Strict Liability in Tort. Retrieved 25 May 2014, from http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/rutlr19&div=40&id=&page=
Miller, R., & Jentz, G. (2011). Study guide to accompany Business Law Today (1st ed.). Mason: South-Western Cengage learning.
