Premises liability is a fundamental part of a certain branch of injury law. It centers on the responsibility that property owners have to maintain safe places.

A premises liability attorney can't go after everyone for everything that happens on their properties, but there's a lot that's potentially on the table. If you're looking at one of these four situations, you might want to consult with a premises liability attorney.

Public Spaces

Generally, someone is responsible for the maintenance of public spaces. Oftentimes, this ends up being the owner of an adjacent property. For example, most home or business owners are liable for the maintenance of the sidewalks adjacent to their places. If someone slips and falls on ice on the sidewalk in front of a shop, for example, they might have a premises liability case against the business.

Invitations

Welcoming people onto a property often is reason enough to hold the owner liable for an incident. Businesses invite members of the public into their spaces all of the time. Likewise, a homeowner may be liable for injuries that occur due to their negligence when they invite friends or family members over. A premises liability attorney much prefers to see an overt invitation, such as the "open" sign at a business. However, tacit invitations like leading someone into your home usually hold up well as legal arguments, too.

Attractive Nuisances

Some features on a property can encourage people to get nosey and end up in dangerous situations. The classic attractive nuisance is a swimming pool, and this is why many jurisdictions require specific types of fencing around pools. If a property owner failed to take basic preventative measures, such as putting up sufficiently tall fencing, and the injured party can seek a claim or pursue a lawsuit.

Repeated Security Problems

While a premises liability attorney often focuses on accidents, known security issues also fall within their practice. Suppose a university had a dormitory building where multiple assaults had occurred in a particular stairwell.

If these incidents repeatedly happen, the university may be found liable based on the principle of negligent security. This is a form of premises liability where a property owner is liable for others' actions because the owner hasn't done enough to stop them. A reasonable person would expect a university to install security cameras and access systems to minimize the risk of incidents. If a university failed to do after several incidents, later victims might have grounds to seek compensation.