Premises liability law is a kind of law introduced to protect the best interest of anyone facing an accident on someone else’s property. It helps you to understand your rights, when and how to make a claim, and what compensation you can get.
However, this law protects the property owner too. Not every situation is appropriate to blame the property owner.
If you get hurt, you may be able to claim compensation from the property owner for the accident. But only someone with good knowledge of premises liability law can help you identify if you can claim the compensation or not.
That’s why you need a premises liability lawyer. Besides understanding the law, they can help you with many more things.
Who is a Premises Liability Lawyer?
A premises liability lawyer is a personal injury lawyer with deep knowledge about what to do in a situation involving accidents on someone else’s property. They can help you identify your rights and fight for them. If you get a premises liability attorney, they can represent you in court.
Hiring a lawyer to help you in such cases helps you in many ways if you want to receive compensation from the property owner. Let’s see what they can do for you.
What do Premises Liability Lawyers do?
Investigate the Accident
To have a clear and independent idea about the accident, your appointed lawyer can investigate it. Having a clear idea is crucial as it helps them to make proper decisions about further steps.
Their investigation also helps to find new information that you may have missed.
In many ways, it is important.
Collect Solid Evidence
Strong evidence is important to prove the property owner is at fault. After an accident, you may not be in a condition to collect proof. Also, even if you search for evidence, you may miss important things.
In such cases, your appointed lawyer can collect ample evidence to identify the party at fault and build a solid case against them.
Answer Your Questions
After such an accident, you may have numerous questions about it. For example- you may want to know about the further process or possible result of a lawsuit.
Your lawyer or attorney can answer all your questions. They have studied and experienced such cases several times. So, they answer your questions throughout the process and help you understand what’s going on or what can happen.
Build the Case
Proving the party at fault is tough if the case is not built strong. As a result, a weak case may result in nothing but a waste of time and effort.
Attorneys have experience with how to build a case. Thus, hiring someone would boost your chance of winning the lawsuit.
Calculate the Compensation
Premises liability cases include compensation to the victim. But to receive maximum compensation, you need to calculate it properly.
A lawyer or attorney knows about the fields included in the compensation policy. So, you’ll get assistance in compensation calculation, ensuring that no relevant compensation field is missing.
Negotiate with Other Parties
After such an accident, the property owners, their lawyers, or the insurance company would try to communicate with you for different purposes. They aim to compensate you as low as possible.
Facing them is often an overwhelming experience because they try their best to provide you with the least amount. When you have a lawyer, you don’t have to face them. Your lawyer would negotiate with them and protect your best interest.
Represent You in Court
A lawyer can’t represent you in court, but an attorney can.
You may want to represent yourself in court. But it would be tough for you if you don’t have previous experience with the court. In such a case, your attorney would take charge.
In a word, a lawyer or attorney you hire for premises liability case can help you in every step of the process. They can even go a step further for you. So, you need to hire the best one to get the best out of the effort and time you put into the lawsuit.
How to Find the Best Lawyer for Premises Liability Cases?
Everyone has their own way of finding a lawyer. Most people depend on the recommendation of someone close to get a lawyer. But to find the best one, you must put in some effort.
Here’s how I think you need to look for and find the best lawyer.
Step 1- Make a List
In this step, you’ll make a list of the recommended lawyers around you.
First, look for recommendations from your friends, family, or neighbors. You’ll get a few names, I guess.
Then, look for recommendations in search engines. Use the keyword ‘best premises liability lawyers around me’, and you’ll get many names. Pick a few among them and add them to your list.
Also, you can visit your local bar community for recommendations.
Till now, you must have at least 12-15 names on the list.
Step 2- Evaluate the Options
Now it’s time to evaluate them. Search for their online presence, as most lawyers or law firms have websites or social media pages nowadays. Find them and check their activity.
Focus on the types of cases they work with, recent cases that match your situation, their efficiency, experience, etc.
Also, check the ratings and reviews too.
Ratings can be manipulated. So, search for ratings on trusted business review platforms.
Pick the top 4-5 based on your evaluation in this stage.
Step 3- Communicate Directly
In this step, you’ll communicate with the top picks directly. Make a call and ask for a free consultancy session. Most lawyers offer such an opportunity nowadays. You can take the opportunity.
Discuss your situation with them in the session and ask several questions about it. Your questions should be about the next step you should take, the possible result of your case, their experience with similar cases, fees they demand, etc.
If direct counseling is not available, discuss it over the phone. Keep things short in this case.
If you want a direct consultation paying for the first session, you can do that too.
Step 4- Picking One
After having your first consultation session with the top 4-5 choices, you’ll know whom to pick.
Prioritize experience, approach, and communication skills while picking your attorney. Also, make sure that you’re comfortable with the person you pick.
The fee should be a consideration but don’t make it the main factor.
Questions to Ask a Lawyer for Premises Liability Case
In the first discussion with the lawyer or attorney, you must ask a few questions, as the answers will help you determine your next step. They are-
What should be my next step?
After describing your situation, ask this question, as it helps you understand their approach. Also, you’ll know what you should do next.
Expect to be disappointed because not all accidents can be counted as premises liability. The lawyer would ask to approach further only when you have a valid case to proceed.
Who will handle my case?
When you go to a law firm or a group of lawyers, it is common that the first meeting won’t be with the person that’ll handle your case. They are often busy, and their representatives meet for the first discussion.
So, asking this question is important. Try to meet the person who’ll handle your case.
How many cases you’ve handled similar to mine?
Such a lawsuit can be filed in many types of accidents. Hiring someone with experience in handling similar cases increases your scope to win. That’s why you should ask them about their experience with similar situations.
If the person has been practicing premises liability law for a long time, they must handle a few cases close to your situation.
How many cases you’re working on?
This is an important question to ask. You must want your attorney to focus on your case. When someone works with more than 10 cases, they might lose concentration sometimes. Still, lawyers handle 25 cases on average at a time.
You should ask this question to have an idea about their workload.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of my case?
This question should be asked to decide your next step. Besides asking about the strengths and weaknesses of the case, ask about their plan to work on them. It’ll give you a clear idea about the strategy they’ll be following.
How much do you charge?
You must ask about their fees. It is a vital element influencing your decision. Ask about the fee structure they use. Most lawyers like to keep it easy for the clients. So, hopefully, you’ll get a satisfactory answer to this question.
The possible fee structure and amount will be discussed later in this article.
How much does It Cost to Hire a Premises Liability Attorney?
Monetary compensation is included in premises liability cases, as these accidents often cause physical damages. In such cases, most lawyers follow a contingency fee plan.
According to the contingency fee plan, you don’t have to pay any upfront fee. In fact, you don’t have to pay anything if you don’t win the case. If you win the case and get compensation, a percentage of the compensation amount should be paid as fee.
The average contingency fee percentage attorneys ask for is 30%-35%. However, some may ask for less or more than the average range. It depends on their experience, the complexity of the case, and many more factors.
Some may ask for an hourly rate. Such fee structures are suitable if you don’t have to pay first. You can make payment after winning the case. But such scope is not offered frequently.
The typical hourly rate of a lawyer is around $250-$350. Your lawyer may ask for anything between this range.
These are two of the most common payment structures lawyers follow. Also, I’ve discussed the possible amount. There are several other structures practiced around the country. Just make sure you’re picking a feasible structure and rate.
What are the Compensation Fields for Premises Liability Cases?
Compensation in such cases is counted based on the damage made by the accident. They can be divided into two main parts- monetary and non-monetary.
Monetary compensation fields cover the damages that can be counted in the amount of money—for example- medical bills.
The most common monetary compensation considerations are-
- Medical bills
- Therapy cost
- Cost of medication
- Lost wages
- Loss of future income
- Cost of expert consultancy
- Future costs of medication and treatment, etc.
If you lose someone from your family, you can ask for funeral costs and other related costs as compensation.
Non-monetary compensation considerations can’t be counted directly by money. Some of such fields are-
- Pain and sufferings
- Loss of emotional balance
- Emotional distress
- Lower living quality, etc.
Such damages are converted to a monetary measure by the court and added to the monetary compensation amount.
What are the Common Premises Liability Cases?
Premises liability lawsuits can be filed if you face an accident on someone else’s property. The accident or incident might be of any type. Not all can be counted as suitable for a lawsuit.
Some of the most common premises liability cases are-
- Slip and fall
- Animal or dog bite
- Swimming pool injuries
- Property hazards
- Improper or inadequate maintenance
- Negligence of maintenance
- Lack of security, etc.
Such accidents frequently happen when you’re trying to buy or rent a new home.
Do I Need to Hire a Premises Liability Lawyer?
You are not required to hire a legal representative in such cases. The court allows you to handle your case on your own.
But hiring someone will always be beneficial. When you’re busy with physical and mental recovery from the accident, handling the complex process of the case won’t be easy for you. In such cases, hiring a lawyer lets you simultaneously focus on recovery and compensation claims.
Again, if it is your first time experiencing a legal procedure, it would seem super complex to you. The process has lots of complex components, terminology, and conditions. So, there is a chance that you’ll lose track often. When you have a lawyer hired to help you in the process, you can do this easily.
The court doesn’t require hiring an attorney, but you need assistance to reduce stress and focus on your recovery. Also, lawyers can do a lot of things for you. I’ve already discussed that. So, I think you need to hire a lawyer for a premises liability lawsuit.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can a lawyer guarantee compensation from premises liability lawsuits?
Attorneys are trained and experienced to seek the truth and prove it. So, if you hire someone good at such cases, they can help you get compensation from the party at fault by proving the truth.
However, the decision is made by the court following the law. So, in most cases, nobody can guarantee compensation. In case it is a clear fault of the property owner, they can guarantee a 99% certainty. But the rest 1% is always uncertain.
What If I Can’t Afford a Lawyer?
Lawyers often offer discounts on their service on several occasions. You can grab the opportunity to get legal support. Also, you may find any law firm offering free legal support or a big discount on a specific day every week or month.
Law schools in your locality can help you for free in exchange for using your case as study material. Also, some NGOs work to provide legal support to people with low incomes.
Check your local bar community to find someone offering such services at a low cost.
Several options are available if you want legal support but can’t afford it. You just have to go to the right place for it.