Legal Thoughts On Property Liability

Canadian lawyers use the phrase premises liability, when referring to an issue that relates to property liability. That is the phrase that will get repeated most-frequently in this article.

How does the law define premises?

A premise is any possession onto which the owner might invite guests. Both boats and travel trailers qualify as premises. The owner of a premises must employ reasonable steps, in order to keep it safe. Personal Injury Lawyer in Barrie is of the view that rules that apply to the owner of a premises are most-strongly enforced following a slip and fall incident or a trip and fall incident.

When does a premises owner get held accountable for a given injury?

If a premises owner has control over the development of an unsafe setting, then that same owner becomes responsible for any injury to a guest on the owned premises.

In an apartment building, does a legal ruling make a tenant or a building owner responsible for injuries?

The injuries caused by hazards that the tenants can control fall within the boundaries set for injuries for which the tenant can be held responsible for.

Exceptions to rule that holds tenants responsible for injuries caused by hazards that they can control.

That rule does not apply if a guest has agreed to accept expected hazards. For instance, someone that agrees to take part in a parachute jump has agreed to free the owner of the facility offering the parachute of any liability, for an anticipated injury. On the other hand, that facility owner does not get excused for introduction of an unexpected hazard, if the guests have been charged a fee.

That rule does not apply if an intruder comes on the property, in order to carry-out a crime.

That rule does not apply to a trespasser, someone that mistakenly treads on a given premise, but does not do so for the purposes of committing a crime. If the premises owner has not posted clearly-visible signs, showing where a given property lies, any injury to a trespasser would not become the property owner’s responsibility.

An exception might be made if the guest had made no effort to keep an eye out for possible hazards. For instance, it could be that a condominium contains a small rise in the living room floor. This is only a hazard if a guest makes no effort to watch where he or she is going.

Obviously, someone that has entered a given premise for the first time should feel compelled to proceed with a certain level of caution. The absence of such caution would act against the person that chose to file the personal injury claim. A judge and jury would decide whether or not that same claim did hold merit.