Can You Recover Compensation for a Premises Injury in Louisiana?
Updated: Nov 29, 2024
Regardless of which Louisiana parish you call home, all commercial and residential property owners must keep their premises free of hazards. This includes all known hazards and those property owners should be aware of like broken sidewalks and downed tree limbs.
If a property owner fails to adequately maintain their premises, you may be eligible to recover compensation if you suffer an injury. However, navigating a Louisiana premises liability claim can be complicated. You have specific steps to follow and skipping one can impact your ability to receive compensation for your damages.
Understanding Louisiana Premises Liability Law
The Pelican State defines premises as land, facilities, and any other buildings and structures on the property. This can include the lawn, sidewalk, and inside a structure like a business, home, garden shed, or garage.
Boats and swimming pools also fall under these guidelines, if they’re located on the property owner’s premises. So, if you’re injured climbing around on a boat stored in an individual’s backyard, it’s often considered part of the premises.
Louisiana’s premises liability law doesn’t stop at simply defining what’s considered an individual’s private or public property. The law also defines who may be eligible for filing a premises liability claim. The law addresses both individuals allowed on the premises and those who are considered trespassing.
Under Louisiana legal guidelines, individuals invited onto the premises like friends, neighbors, and relatives are considered invited guests. As a guest of the premises owner, they have a certain expectation of safety. This means the property is free of hazards that can result in accidents and/or injuries.
The same law also applies to individuals invited onto the property for non-commercial reasons. This can include business customers and hospital patients. Remember, the state’s premises liability laws apply to both public and private properties.
Individuals trespassing typically aren’t covered by the state’s premises liability law. Since they’re not invited onto the property, you don’t have a legal obligation to ensure their safety. However, there’s an exception to this legal rule.
Children, whether invited or not, always have a certain expectation of safety. To help ensure you’re not violating any part of the premises liability law it’s always best to keep up with your property’s maintenance.
Common Injuries in Premises Liability Claims
The type of injury typically depends on the accident. Your injuries from a slip and fall accident are going to be different than if you’re bitten by the property owner’s dog. With that being said, some common injuries seem to pop up in the majority of premises liability claims. These can include:
Broken bones
Burns
Catastrophic injury
Disfigurement and scarring
Electrical shock
Head injury (including traumatic brain injury)
Loss of limb
Neck injury
Paralysis
Spinal cord injury
Some premises accidents can result in fatalities. If a loved one is killed due to a property owner’s negligence, you may have grounds to file a wrongful death claim. This type of personal injury claim is a little different than a premises liability case.
If this applies to you, it’s usually best to contact a wrongful death attorney. Recovering compensation for the death of a loved one can be emotionally draining and the legal process isn’t always easy to navigate.
Proving a Louisiana Premises Liability Claim
Before you can file a premises liability claim you need to meet some criteria. If you can’t meet the criteria, there’s a good chance you can’t recover financial compensation. So, what do you need to show in a premises liability claim?
The defendant owns, leases, or is otherwise the primary occupant. This can be a little confusing in a rental situation. The person leasing the property and its owner may both be liable for your injuries. Often the terms of the leasing agreement help sort out who is the liable party. For example, if the lease states the renter is responsible for property maintenance you probably can’t name the premises owner as the liable party.
You are owed a duty of care. Pretty much everyone owes someone a duty of care. Property owners owe a duty to all visitors to ensure the area is free of hazards.
The defendant hasn’t taken reasonable actions to remove or repair any known hazards. An example can be if the property owner is aware of broken glass on the ground but doesn’t take steps to clean it up. This statute can also extend to hazards the property owner should know about.
The negligence of the property owner is the direct cause of your injuries. Negligence can be failing to clean up broken glass or remove a fallen tree branch.
If your claim meets these criteria, you can probably file an injury claim. Don’t forget, that you must prove your injuries and any other claimable damages are directly caused by negligence. In other words, your injuries would’ve only happened on the premises.
Types of Damages Common in Premises Liability Claims
Even though all premises liability claims are different, the types of damages listed are often the same. Your claim can include economic and non-economic damages like:
Hospital or medical expenses
Rehabilitative therapy
Lost wages and reduced future earning ability
Pain and suffering
Cost of future medical treatments
Emotional suffering
Calculating your economic damages is usually fairly easy. Add up your bills and receipts and this gives you the value of your economic damages.
Figuring out the value of your non-economic damages is a little more complicated. You’ll need to use either the per diem or multiplier method. Both methods are accepted by the legal system and insurance companies. If you’re not sure which formula to use, your personal injury attorney can provide some guidance.
Recovering Compensation for a Premises Liability Accident
If you’re injured on someone’s property due to their negligence, you may be able to file a premises liability claim.
However, before starting the claim process it’s usually best to consult with an experienced Louisiana accident attorney. The legal process can be challenging to navigate, even when negligence is clear. Your attorney can help ensure you recover fair compensation for your injuries.