Who has the burden of proof in Duluth premises liability cases, and what is that legal burden?

If you suffered injuries on someone else’s premises, then you (as the accident victim) have the legal burden of proof. Specifically, you must demonstrate that the premises owner owed you a specific duty of care, that he or she violated that duty of care, and that as a result, you suffered injuries and damages, like the ones mentioned above.

The duty of care that a premises owner owes a premises visitor depends on the status of that visitor on the property. For example, the highest duty of care goes to business invitees. A business invitee is someone who is on a person or company’s premises to further the purposes of the business owner. A customer at a shopping center or retail store is a prime example of a business invitee. Specifically, the business has a duty to correct or warn about known dangerous hazards on the premises and to inspect the premises for unknown dangerous hazards. When warning about or correcting property hazards, the premises owner must undertake reasonable measures.

A licensee, in most cases, is a social guest at someone’s personal home or residence. The property owner owes a social guest the duty to ensure that his or her property is in a reasonably safe condition at all times. The premises owner also has a duty to warn about or repair known dangerous defects on the premises.

Finally, in many circumstances, a premises owner does not owe a trespasser a legal duty of care, unless the trespasser is a known trespasser. An unknown trespasser may be a child whom the property owner knows frequents the premises regularly. If the trespasser is a known trespasser, then the premises owner may owe him or her some legal duty of care.

In addition to proving that a premises owner acted unreasonably under the circumstances or otherwise failed to abide by the prevailing standard of care, the accident victim must show that he or she suffered at least one injury in the accident. Moreover, the accident victim must demonstrate that it was the accident that caused the injury.

The experienced Duluth premises liability lawyers at Brauns Law Accident Injury Lawyers, PC can help you prove the legal elements of your premises liability claim and pursue the compensation that you need.