Premises liability cases are highly common, such that about 28% of personal injury cases handled by the US Bureau of Justice in 2019 involved premises liability. This statistic is based on data gathered and reported by Advocate Magazine. While it is common, that does not mean that owners of public spaces should take this concern lightly. You are responsible for ensuring the safety of the public when entering your premises, whether clients or tenants. However, you also need to hire a premises liability lawyer to help navigate the complex nature of the law involving this type of case.
Before you shop around and find lawyers to be a part of your legal team, it’s essential to know how to hire one! This guide will provide the answers you seek to clarify what you need to be looking for in a premises liability lawyer.
Why You Need a Premises Liability Lawyer
Whether it is an accident or your fault, the premises owner is liable when accidents and injuries occur within your area. Any serious or minor injury can translate to thousands in medical bills. For any business, taking a proactive step in dealing with similar cases is crucial to ensure you cut your losses.
Here is why you need to work with a premises liability lawyer.
- Investigate the Incident
Premises liability lawyers are skilled in handling similar cases, so they know what evidence to look for that would point to your Liability resulting from the injury. With this insight, you can get expert knowledge and analysis of the entire case, providing a full picture of how to defend the case or how to respond to it.
- Determine Liability
An attorney can assist in determining Liability based on the investigation and the evidence collected. Liability is often determined by identifying the negligent party. A skilled attorney can review the evidence and eyewitness accounts to determine Liability.
- Negotiation
Most premises liability is settled out of court. Ideally, you would want to settle your case in this manner. Your attorney can help with this since they can negotiate with the injured party on behalf of the owner of the premises. Their expertise can help you pay out as little as possible if it is determined that you are liable for the injury.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Premises Liability Lawyer
You should hire a premises liability lawyer who specializes in the field. This legal process requires a legal professional to examine the various components of the law closely to ensure you are protected from any legal liability.
When comparing various legal services, ask these important questions to help you assess their expertise and determine whether they’re the right fit for your needs.
How many years have you handled premises liability cases?
A famous quote says, “Experience is the best teacher.” This quote applies to the legal profession, where lawyers become more adept at the intricacies of the law as they are exposed to it. Thus, years of experience are a good gauge of the expertise and reliability of a premises liability lawyer in helping you win cases and ensure you can achieve the best legal strategies.
Have you handled claims similar to mine?
As mentioned above, premises liability laws are complex. Therefore, they aren’t easy to navigate for someone without adequate experience of handling similar cases. This question is different from the one above because it addresses the specific nature of the case and how a legal professional can assist in developing similar legal strategies.
What percentage of your premise liability cases resulted in a settlement or trial?
Most premises liability cases result in an out-of-court settlement. This would be the ideal path for anyone on the defense side of the case. Thus, when hiring a premise liability lawyer, you should ask them about the percentage of their cases that went to trial versus those that were settled. It reflects your lawyer’s ability to provide the best legal strategy in any case and their ability to help you achieve your desired result.
Can you guarantee the likely outcome of the case?
No lawyer can guarantee anything to their clients except for cases with clear evidence. In the case of premises liability, it is such a complex case as it is often challenging to determine negligence and Liability. Therefore, you should lean towards a lawyer who does not make guarantees or promises for your case but presents a particular course of action to help achieve your desired outcome.
What resources will you require when building the case?
Defending a premises liability case requires many resources and might involve expertise in various fields. Some lawyers will call upon medical experts, accident reconstruction experts, or engineers if that is required to build a strong case. These experts and professionals will support the evidence that your lawyer will collect to add credibility to your case.
How will communication be handled in my case?
While hiring an experienced and knowledgeable attorney is crucial, you also need someone with good communication skills. If hiring a team of attorneys, you must have someone as a designated contact person to whom you can reach out if you have questions about the case. That individual will also be responsible for providing you with progress updates on the case to ensure you are kept in the loop.
What is your fee structure?
Premises liability lawyers or firms with transparency and integrity are open to discussing their fee structure. They will be upfront about the percentage they will take for handling the case if it has a successful outcome. Furthermore, they should not charge any hidden fees and explicitly discuss any fees associated with hiring their services to avoid any surprises when it comes to collecting the fees.
On the other hand, be wary of firms that promise to settle your case at a low, flat rate. These firms are not interested in bringing you the desired outcome; they just want to make some quick cash and move on to the next client.