Occupiers liability, also known as premises or property liability, is the part of law that involves the legal duty of owners and occupiers of property for accidents or general injuries arising from persons either inside or outside their property due to unsafe conditions.
Under the British Columbia Occupiers Liability Act a duty is placed on property owners (e.g. business owners, homeowners, or tenants) to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition to avoid injury to visitors, for cognizance of corrective steps needed to relieve hazardous conditions, and to communicate to persons of any potential hazards on their property.
Inevitably some owners who fail to maintain or repair their property put other people at risk of injury. Such properties may include general retail building environments such as grocery stores, restaurants, merchandise stores, and public environments such as playgrounds, parks, roads, cycling pathways and sidewalks.
The following unsafe conditions may cause accidents on property:
- Improper lighting
- Falling objects
- Ice, rain, or snow
- Irregular surfaces
- Sporting injuries
- Impediments in walking surfaces
- Potholes
- Falling objects
- Insufficient security or supervision
- Impediments in walking surfaces
- Assaults
- Defective stairs
- Drowning
- Asbestos
- Breaches of building codes
- Municipal property accidents on roads and sidewalks
It may be difficult to determine who is responsible for your injuries since occupiers liability laws are complex. As soon as possible it is critical that a premises liability lawyer is contacted so that a complete investigation can be started to both assess who the owner of the property is and to hire any necessary experts to investigate the matter of negligence through physical inspection of the site, obtaining witness statements, performing measurements, and gathering photographs including video surveillance. At Hauer and Company you may be sure we will pursue the negligent owner on your behalf and to hold them accountable under law for your injuries.
Unless you were entirely at fault for the incident, we can assist you in recovering compensation from at-fault parties for:
- General pain and suffering damages (e.g. for loss of enjoyment of life)
- Loss of future earnings (both immediate financial loss due to the inability to work, and long-term reduced earning capacity and loss of future opportunity)
- Future medical care costs (treatment, rehabilitation and miscellaneous costs including nursing or attendant care which would not normally be available from accident benefits)
- Housekeeping Services
- Compensation for family members arising from your injuries (to cover cost of services but also loss of guidance and companionship they have suffered)
Call Hauer and Company for a free consultation.