Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog
Not everyone who is hurt in an accident has a personal injury claim. In order to have a successful case, you need several things. Among them, you need evidence that the accident caused your injuries. You also need to shows that the defendant you sued had a “duty,” or legal obligation that it failed to do or failed to do sufficiently.
There are some things that a property always has a duty to do, such as correcting, or warning about, dangerous conditions on the property. There are other things that a property owner does not automatically have a legal obligation to do, but a duty can arise if the person/entity attempted but was negligent in the attempt. This called “assuming the duty” and it possibly can help you in your premises liability case. As always, be sure to consult an experienced New Orleans injury attorney about the specifics of your situation and the options available to you.
Here’s a case that’s an example of how “assuming the duty” can be a successful argument. R.E., the plaintiff, was shot in the neck late one night while walking through a parking lot outside a dance club, where he had been attending a wedding reception. R.E. sued for his injuries.
Normally when you think of premises liability, you might think of slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents. There are, however, a greater variety of bases for premises liability — and compensation – than just that. As with other premises liability cases, who you can sue can depend on the specific facts you unearth as you proceed with discovering evidence. In some cases, you might need to sue the owner of the establishment (who might be a tenant of the property); in others, the owner of the property might be the correct defendant. In R.E.’s case, he sued the owner of property.
Finding out who you should sue requires knowing what evidence you need and knowing how to go about getting it. It is important to understand that, in a situation like this (a third party’s criminal act injuring you due to inadequate security,) you need proof that the entity you’ve sued affirmatively took steps to provide security for the area where you were shot, and was negligent in providing that security. This allows you to argue that, while the law does not universally impose a duty to provide security, once an entity affirmatively commits itself to provide security, it has a duty to provide effective security, and that it failed to live up to that duty, making the entity liable for your damages.
For R.E., one of the key pieces of evidence he obtained and submitted to the court was the lease agreement between the dance club and the property owner. It was important because the lease agreement had terms that indicated that the property owner was responsible for providing security services in the “common area,” which included places like the parking lot, employee parking areas, loading areas, ramps and sidewalks. The lease agreement, according to the court that ruled in R.E.’s favor, was clear that the property owner “retained exclusive control, supervision and management of the Common Area, including the parking areas,” including providing security for those areas.
Based on that proof, R.E. was entitled to a summary judgment in his favor holding the property owner liable for his injuries resulting from the negligent provision of security.
If you are hurt while on the property of someone else, the law may give you the opportunity to seek compensation for the harm you suffered. Contact the Cardone Law Firm to find out more about how our skilled Louisiana injury lawyers can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
For your confidential consultation contact us online or phone Cardone at 504-522-3333.
More Blog Posts:
A Louisiana Court Decides that a Supermarket Shopper Had Enough Evidence to Proceed with Her Slip-and-Fall Case, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, Sept. 10, 2018
Louisiana Court of Appeal Awards Damages to Parents in High School Student’s Sidewalk Slip-and-Fall Case, Louisiana Injury Lawyers Blog, May 22, 2018