Clarksville Slip and Fall Lawyer

Under Tennessee law, a landowner has a duty to keep their premises safe and free from dangerous conditions. If someone is injured on the property due to the landowner’s failure to keep their property safe or at least warn visitors of those conditions, they can be held liable.

If you are injured because of a slip and fall accident while on the premises of another, contact a Clarksville slip and fall lawyer to understand your rights and the next steps after being treated for your injuries. A seasoned personal injury attorney could help you file a claim to recover damages.

Proving the Landowner’s Negligence

Filing a successful slip and fall claim is based on being able to prove that the landowner allowed a dangerous condition to persist on their property without correcting it or making the visitor aware of its existence. A plaintiff should be able to prove one of the following:

• The landowner should have known of the dangerous condition
• The landowner was aware of the dangerous condition but did not repair it
• The landowner caused the dangerous condition

In any of these situations, the court or trier of fact will look to the reasonable person standard, which is whether a person in that particular position would have known about the dangerous condition and been able to fix it.

Dangerous Conditions

A dangerous condition is one that the landowner has a duty to repair or warn visitors of. It can be poor lighting in a parking lot or common areas of an apartment building, broken flooring, wet surfaces, or a dangerous object on the property that the landowner did not warn visitors of. If a slip and fall occurred because of situations such as these, contact a Clarksville slip and fall lawyer to discuss whether a claim is viable.

Different Duties to Different Visitors in Clarksville

A landowner’s liability to a plaintiff depends on their status while on the property. There are three types of visitors that can be on the landowner’s property – invitee, licensee, and trespasser. If the visitor is an invitee, they are invited on to the property for a specific purpose (i.e. grocery store, coffee bar). The landowner owes them the highest level of care. The landowner must ensure the property is safe by fixing dangerous conditions or warning them of the condition.

A licensee is a visitor who has not been formally invited, but is welcome on the property. This could be a social visitor or someone in an official capacity, such as a plumber. The landowner must ensure that licensees are warned about dangerous conditions on the property. Finally, a trespasser receives the lowest duty of care by the landowner. The landowner does not have to warn trespassers of dangerous conditions existing on the property, however, the landowner cannot intentionally harm or injure the trespasser.

Damages for Injuries

Tennessee law gives a plaintiff one year from the date of the accident to file a claim for injuries resulting from the accident. Compensatory damages include: medical expenses, lost wages, physical and emotional pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. Punitive damages may also be awarded in extreme circumstances where the defendant’s conduct was intentional or reckless.

Consult with a Clarksville Slip and Fall Attorney Today

If you are injured in a slip and fall accident while on a landowner’s property because of their negligence to keep the property safe, call an experienced Clarksville slip and fall lawyer. An attorney can evaluate your case to determine whether you have a valid claim.