Hopefully, everyone has recovered from all of the recent snow and ice. We all tend to enjoy the beautiful snow and days off, but unfortunately we also have to endure the accidents and injuries that come along with the bad weather.
Since we are finally entering into a season of snow and ice, let’s spend some time discussing legal issues that could result from slips and falls on the property of landowners. This week in the Legal Corner, we will begin with an introduction to premise liability.
Premises liability generally refers to the level of responsibility and standard of care the land or property owner — or anyone in control of the property — owes to a person entering onto his or her property. A few examples of premise liability issues may include a customer slipping and falling in a department store or a visitor tripping and falling in the home of another.
In North Carolina, a person entering on the premises of the property or landowner will be classified as either a lawful visitor or a trespasser. A lawful visitor is a person who has been invited onto the property or has permission to be on the property by the landowner. An example of a lawful visitor would be a store customer.
A trespasser is a person who enters onto the landowner’s property without invitation, permission or legal right. An example of a trespasser would be an intruder on the property.
It is important to know the classification of the person entering onto the property, because this helps determine the level of care or the amount of responsibility the landowner owes that individual. For example, a store owner could be held liable for the injury of a customer on his or her property, but may not be held liable for the injury of a person who breaks into the store without the owner’s permission.
Generally, North Carolina imposes a duty of reasonable care on landowners toward lawful visitors on their property. This means that a landowner is only required to exercise reasonable care when maintaining his or her property for the protection of lawful visitors.
An example of reasonable care may include the landowner performing a reasonable inspection of his or her property for any defects or hazards in order to protect lawful visitors.
Please remember that this information is only meant to inform our readers. This article does not include all of the detailed information and regulations related to premise liability matters or claims.
If you have any additional questions about a potential premise liability claim or the process and requirements for filing a claim please contact a local attorney. Moreover, if you are a landowner and would like additional information on how to protect yourself from liability, please contact a local attorney.
As always: Be informed. Be prepared.
Bellonora McCallum is an attorney at the McCallum Law Firm, PLLC, in Rockingham. Reach her at 910-730-4064 or visit www.mccallumlawfirm.com.