Indianapolis Premises Liability Lawyers

Property owners – both public and private – have certain responsibilities to visitors. In general, they must adequately maintain their properties, follow applicable building codes and regulations, remove or repair hazards, and warn visitors of any condition that could cause foreseeable injury. When they fail to uphold this duty of care, and innocent people are injured as a result, negligent property owners can be held civilly liable for victims’ damages.

If you were injured on someone else’s property due to a dangerous condition or hazard, you could have grounds for a personal injury case. At Hovde Dassow + Deets, LLC, our Indianapolis premises liability lawyers have an in-depth understanding of the law, as well as more than a century of combined legal experience. We can help you understand your options and pursue the maximum compensation you are owed for your damages.

Call us today at 888-229-1778 or contact us online using our secure submission form. Your free consultation.

What Is Premises Liability Law?

Premises liability law refers to the obligations property owners and landlords have to different types of visitors. The degree of liability a property owner may have depends on the status of the visitor.

There are three different types of visitors recognized by Indiana premises liability law:

• Invitee: An invitee is someone who is implicitly or expressly invited to a property for the benefit of the property owner. Examples include an invited house guest or a customer in a retail store. Indiana property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees.
• Licensee: A licensee is someone who has not been expressly or implicitly invited to a property but is, nevertheless, there legally. An example would be someone who stops at a gas station to use the bathroom, despite not purchasing gasoline for their vehicle.
• Trespasser: A trespasser is someone who does not have the property owner’s expressed or implied permission to be on the premises and is not there for any lawful purpose. Someone who enters a neighbor’s backyard without permission is trespassing.

While property owners owe varying duties of care to both invitees and licensees, the only responsibility they have toward trespassers is to refrain from causing willful injury or intentionally increasing the risk of injury or harm.

To sue a property owner or landlord after an accident or injury-causing event, there are several things you must prove:

• The property owner or landlord owed you a duty of care, typically meaning you were an invitee or licensee
• The property owner or landlord failed to uphold this duty of care, for example, by conducting inadequate property maintenance, failing to remove hazards or failing to post warnings
• You were injured and/or suffered measurable economic or noneconomic damages, such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost income
• The property owner or landlord’s failure to uphold the duty of care was the actual or proximate cause of your injuries and/or damages
• If you were partly at fault for the incident that caused your injury, you were not more than 50% negligent or at fault

At Hovde Dassow + Deets, LLC, our Indianapolis premises liability attorneys carefully review and investigate claims to determine exactly what happened and who is liable. We leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of maximum compensation for each and every one of our clients.

Dangerous Property Conditions

Most premises liability cases involve hazards or dangerous property conditions that lead to injuries or deaths. If you were injured or if someone you love died due to a dangerous property condition or hazard, you must prove that the property owner or manager knew about the dangerous condition or hazard (or reasonably could have known about it) but did nothing to remove, repair, or warn others of it to have a case.

Some examples of dangerous property conditions and hazards include:

• Wet or slippery floors
• Defective steps or stairs
• Missing handrails
• Torn or ripped carpeting
• Uneven floors
• Unmarked steps
• Poor lighting
• Cluttered walkways and aisles
• Defective guardrails
• Potholes
• Accumulated ice or snow
• Locked emergency exit doors
• Improper or missing signage
• Negligent security guards
• Insufficient security cameras or floodlights
• Unrestrained animals
• Unsafe swimming pools
• Poorly maintained elevators or escalators
• Defective sidewalks

These and other dangerous conditions can lead to serious accidents, from slips, trips, and falls to dog bites and attacks, even to assault. Our Indianapolis premises liability lawyers understand the severity of these incidents, as well as the importance of helping victims and their loved ones obtain justice.

Types Of Premises Liability Cases We Handle

At Hovde Dassow + Deets, LLC, we represent clients in all types of premises liability matters, including cases involving:

• Slip and falls
• Dog bites/animal attacks
• Negligent security
• Swimming pool accidents
• Amusement park accidents
• Elevator and escalator accidents

We have successfully brought claims against private landowners, homeowners, businesses, corporations, government agencies, municipalities, landlords, and other entities. To date, our attorneys have recovered more than $300 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients – and we are prepared to fight for you, too.

Our firm offers highly personalized and compassionate legal representation. We have been serving the state since 1967 and have been ranked as a Tier 1 law firm in Indiana for personal injury litigation in the areas of plaintiffs’ personal injury and product liability. When you trust your case to our firm, a partner attorney will be directly involved from the start.

There are no fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call 888-229-1778 or contact us online 24/7 to schedule a free consultation.