Unsafe conditions like faulty wiring, improperly stacked merchandise and loose carpeting cause accidents leading to major injury. Businesses and property owners have a vital responsibility to create safe environments for their customers and visitors. This also includes walkways and parking lots, along with individuals they employ. Workers are there to serve and sometimes, even protect people who visit their places of business. The lawyers at Drake Law Firm, are experienced in the legal responsibilities and liabilities of businesses or organizations that fail to offer these safe environments.

You can readily sustain injury through no fault of your own when you go to property such as a store, office building, motel or apartment complex. If the owner or occupier of the property knew of a dangerous condition or activity that led to your injury and failed to take timely, practical steps to protect you from it, you may be eligible to recover full compensation for all damage you have suffered. You should immediately get help from an experienced Woodland Hills premises liability attorney.

Premises Liability Claims In California

When you consult with Drake Law Firm, we will thoroughly review the facts of your case. We will identify and pursue all of your legal options against the owner or occupant of the property where your injury took place. Generally, the matters that we will concentrate on include:

• Duty-- Did you legally visit the property? For example, were you a customer at a store, a guest at a hotel or a social guest at a person's residence? If so, the property owner or occupant owed a duty to exercise ordinary care to ensure that the property was safe for you. In other words, the owner or occupier needed to take reasonable steps to protect you from any dangerous condition on the property that the owner or occupant knew or reasonably should have known about and which you would not have been expected to find on your own.
• Breach-- Did the owner or occupier fail to fix the dangerous condition in a reasonable, timely manner or, at the very least, to warn you about it? If so, the owner failed to fulfill the duty owed to you and could be held legally responsible for your injuries.
• Causation-- Did the negligence of the owner or occupier contribute to the injuries that you suffered, or did something else-- possibly your own actions-- cause the injuries?
• Damages-- Did you suffer actual harm due to the failure of the property owner or occupier to fulfill the duty owed to you? This means that you need to show that you suffered real physical, emotional and/or financial harm.

It is always important to look at the ways a property owner or occupier will attempt to avoid liability. For instance, the owner or occupant might claim that you were a trespasser or argue that you suffered injuries because you walked into an "open and obvious" hazard. The attorneys at Drake Law Firm, will be prepared to address those issues and protect your right to full and fair compensation.

Types of Premises Liability Claims In California

A premises liability claim can emerge in many different situations. Some of the most common premises liability claims that our law firm handles include:

• Slip and falls-- These incidents often occur due to wet and slippery floors, bad lighting, broken and uneven sidewalks, torn or frayed carpeting and icy or snowy walkways and parking lots. In addition, a lot of falls occur because of defects such as damaged stairways or handrails.
• Falling objects-- Many individuals sustain injuries when improperly stacked merchandise falls from store shelves or when employees drop tools, equipment and materials at construction sites.
• Contamination-- Landlords, particularly, subject occupants and their visitors to harm when they fail to perform routine inspections and remedy concerns such as mold accumulation, lead paint, carbon monoxide or gas leaks. Often, their negligence violates local building codes.
• Escalator and elevator accidents-- These incidents typically happen when building owners or tenants fail to routinely inspect and maintain elevators and escalators in stores, shopping centers and office complexes.
• Negligent security-- Many assaults take place in shopping centers, office buildings, apartments, hotels and motels because property owners and managers fail to protect visitors from known security hazards, or they hire employees without an adequate criminal background check.
• Swimming pool accidents-- Drownings and near-drownings might occur if a property owner or occupier fails to adequately maintain a swimming pool and features such as slides and diving boards. Swimming pool owners should also use a fence or locked gate to keep out children and protect against the foreseeable risk of an accident.

Compensation In a California Premises Liability Lawsuit

Our goal at Drake Law Firm, will be to secure maximum compensation for you in your premises liability claim. We know how hazardous property conditions can cause individuals to sustain serious, life-altering injuries such as traumatic brain injury, back and spine injuries, fractures, burns and soft tissue injuries. We will work hard to pursue damages on your behalf such as:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages (including lost future earning capacity)
• Pain and suffering
• Psychological distress
• Wrongful death damages (if you lost your loved one)
• Punitive damages

We will identify all sources of compensation for you and aggressively challenge any attempts by the property owner or occupant (or its insurance provider) to blame you for your injuries and deny or reduce the amount of your claim.

Our Woodland Hills Premises Liability Lawyers Are Prepared to Help You

At Drake Law Firm, we will move quickly to investigate your claim. We work with experienced investigators who can document the scene of your accident, talk with witnesses and locate various other evidence such as surveillance camera footage. We also regularly consult with experts that help us to figure out exactly how a dangerous property condition caused an accident. A big part of our investigation can involve tracking down the identity of the property owner or person that was otherwise in control of the premises where you or a loved one was hurt.