Premises Liability
What Does Premises Liability Mean?
Premises liability refers to a landowner or official resident of a property being held responsible for an injury that occurred within the land or property. When such an incident goes through a legal process, the state may either inspect the status of the injured party or the safety of the property.
Insuranceopedia Explains Premises Liability
Premises liability doesn't just affect the property owner. It can also affect someone who is just renting the property, such as an apartment tenant, if there is a third party involved.
The law varies from one state to another. A state might inspect the status of the injured party and exclude any complaint from a trespasser (anyone not authorized to set foot on the property).
It can also inspect the property owner or the lessee whose responsibility it is to ensure the property adheres to certain safety standards. Failure to make the property safe or failure to warn that the property is unsafe is grounds for liability.
The injured party and the property owner (or lessee) can also share responsibility in a comparative fault system. The state can assess the portion of negligence for each party and determine the corresponding compensation or penalty for both.
