ABOUT YOUR PREMISES LIABILITY CASE

Many attorneys are reluctant to accept premises liability cases, because they are more difficult to prove than ordinary negligence cases, such as car accidents. In a typical negligence case it is only necessary to show that someone failed to exercise �ordinary care�.

However, the law in Texas is different with respect to injuries resulting from failure to properly maintain one�s property. In such a case, called a �premises liability� case, the owner of property can only be held liable for such injuries, if (s)he:

1. knew or should have known that

2. there was a condition on those premises which posed an unreasonable risk of harm to persons likely to be on those premises (i.e., customers, visitors, delivery person, etc.).

This same rule holds true for commercial property, and the owner is held liable only if its management and employees knew or should have known of such a condition. Thus, if a jury believes that the condition was dangerous, but not unreasonably dangerous, the owner is not liable. If the jury believes that the condition was unreasonably dangerous, but does not believe that the owner knew or should have known of the condition, the owner is not liable.

This is a very difficult standard to overcome-so difficult, in fact, that injured persons win less than one of five of such cases taken to court. As a result, some large retailers and grocers have chosen to take a very hard line with respect to settlement.

Attorneys are in turn very selective about such cases, due to the poor likelihood of success in court and the costs involved. Even the simplest case can cost $1500-2500 to try, and some cases costs several times that amount, depending on the number of doctors seen, etc. What this generally means is, that unless your injuries are serious, it is simply not cost-effective to go to court. Our approach is to attempt to settle the claim out of court, and if the claim is denied, to only file suit if we are quite comfortable about the liability and the injuries are serious enough to justify the cost.

Some companies will have �Med-Pay� insurance, which will pay doctors bills (and nothing else), regardless of liability. The availability of such coverage, and the dollar limits of such coverage, should be determined as soon as possible. Some doctors will bill the Med-Pay carrier directly. Even if you use this coverage, you may still be able to pursue a liability clam. It is very important that you do not sign any releases in return for payments made under such a policy.