Spring Break: Premises Liability in Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Key West, Tampa, and many other Florida cities are some of the top spring break destinations in the United States. Spring breakers from around the country have been taking over the beaches of South Florida for decades.
The last thing you want to worry about while on spring break is getting injured. Unfortunately, sometimes injuries do occur through no fault of our own. It’s important to know your rights if something like this happens, especially if it happens away from home.
Keep reading for more information on premises liability in Florida and what to do if you are injured on spring break.
What is a Premises Liability?
Premises liability refers to a type of personal injury case that involves an injury caused by the negligence of a property owner.
When you are on someone else’s property while in Florida, whether you are on spring break or not, you are owed a degree of protection by that property owner.
If you were injured by the negligence of the property owner due to an unsafe or defective condition on their property, you may have a premises liability case.
Now, just because you were injured on someone else’s property does not mean that the property owner is at fault. The property owner must have known or should have known that the property was unsafe and failed to fix the problem.
The unsafe condition must have caused you to suffer some type of injury.
Examples of unsafe conditions that cause spring break injuries-
- Slippery floors
- Proper signage wasn’t used to alert guests to avoid an area or use caution
- Poor lighting
- Trip hazards on stairs or sidewalks
- Rotten food served at a restaurant
- Loose handrail on balcony or stairs
- Torn carpeting causing a fall
- Improper ship maintenance to cause cruise ship injury
Premises Obligation
In Florida, the property owner owes a different level of care to different types of visitors to the property. Let’s take a look at the different types of visitors to a property and what the law says about them:
Invitees- Invitees are customers, friends, or relatives who are considered invited onto the property through either express or implied consent. The property owner owes the highest standard of care to these individuals. Most spring breakers will fall into the category of invitees.
Licensees- These are usually guests on property for their own benefit. Salespersons are an example of a licensee. A property owner still has a duty to warn licensees of any dangerous condition that the property owner is aware of that the licensee might not notice.
Trespassers- This third category of visitor includes those who are on the property without the permission of the property owner. The property owner does still owe minimal warning of any unsafe conditions that they are aware of to the trespasser.
Children are owed a special standard of care and must be protected from what is called an attractive nuisance. An attractive nuisance is an artificial condition on the land, like a swimming pool that is expected to be considered attractive to children.
Spring Break Premises Liability Case Examples:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Accident in a store, hotel, or shopping center
- Swimming pool accidents
- Accidents caused by poor building maintenance
- Elevator/Escalator accidents
- Negligent Security
Common Premises Liability Injuries:
- Head and brain injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Lacerations
- Dog Bites
- Broken, fractured, or dislocated bones
- Foodborne illnesses
Contact a Florida Premises Liability Attorney
If you have any further questions about premises liability in Florida or were injured in an accident while in Florida for spring break, you should contact an experienced Florida personal injury attorney.
A local attorney will be an expert on premises liability in Florida and will fight to get you the compensation you are owed. Furthermore, you need an attorney to appropriately evaluate your case, determine what it is worth, and identify the types of compensation you are entitled to. You need someone to make sure that you receive fair compensation for your losses with careful analyzation of what occurred on the premises to prove it was the result of negligence and not a personal fault.
At SteinLaw, we have been handling premises liability cases for years and know how to obtain the best results. If a property owner’s negligence is proven, victims of spring break accident injuries in Florida (and other premises liability cases) can receive monetary compensation for the following:
- The cost of past and future medical care
- Past and future lost wages
- Compensation for damage to property
- Pain and suffering
Contact SteinLaw spring break premises liability attorneys today for a free consultation.
