Answers to Your Legal Questions From a Charleston Slip and Fall Lawyer

In general, to recover in a premises liability lawsuit in South Carolina, on must first prove that the owner or occupier of the land owed a duty to the plaintiff. This usually depends on the type of land in question and the reason the plaintiff was on the land to begin with. Second, one must prove that the defendant was negligent in owning or failing to maintain the land in a reasonable safe condition. Lastly, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant was negligence in owning or maintaining the land was the proximate cause of his or her injuries.

The most common type of premises liability claim people think of is slip and falls or trip and falls. However, premises liability can also include any time of inadequate maintenance of the property, defective conditions on the property, collapse stairwells, no railing on stairwells, inadequate building security leading to injury, elevator and escalator accidents, dog bites, swimming pool accidents, amusement park accidents, fires, water leaks or flooding, defective layout or design of a highway or parking lot, and exposure to toxic fumes or chemicals. 

There are several factors that go into play in determining who is responsible if you are hurt while on someone else’s property. First, where you are hurt is important. If you are hurt on a commercial residence, then the owner of the business can potentially be liable. If you are hurt on public property such as a sidewalk, then the owner of that property, perhaps the State of South Carolina, can be liable. If you are hurt while on someone else’s personal property like a residence, then the homeowner (usually their insurance), can potentially be liable. Lastly, if you are hurt at work, you can essentially file a third party claim and perhaps have a third party claim against any negligent party beyond your employer. 

In today’s view of lawsuits, when most people think of premises liability they assume that means slip and falls. While premises liability does include those types of injuries, it also involves many more. In general, premises liability is simply a legal theory that holds property owners, and sometimes landlords and tenants, liable for accidents or injuries that occurred on their property as a result of negligence. In a broad sense, you have to prove the owner owed a duty to the injured and that they were negligent in their ownership or maintenance of the property.