Have you been injured due to a property owner’s negligence in the Biloxi area? If so, we may be able to help you. Call Mama Justice – MW Law Firm today for a free case review.

Sometimes you are just going about your day in the Biloxi area when things take an unexpectedly unpleasant turn. Perhaps you were going shopping at your favorite store when you stepped onto a puddle of liquid and fell, resulting in broken bones and a trip to the ER. Maybe you were visiting someone when a vicious dog who should not have been loose bites you. These types of dangers are lurking around every corner, and while not all accidental injuries are someone’s fault, some definitely are.

If you were injured due to the unsafe conditions at someone else’s property, whether it was a business or private home, you may be able to hold that person liable. Mississippi premises liability law allows you to seek legal compensation for damages you sustain in an accident that happens due to poor property maintenance or other unsafe circumstances.

If your claim is successful, you are entitled to recover financial compensation equal to the cost of your medical bills, lost income, and other damages as well.

Navigating the claims system can be overwhelming and confusing. An experienced Biloxi premises liability lawyer can help you with each stage of the process and let you know all of your legal options. We offer free consultations so there is no reason to hesitate. Get the help you need today.

What Is Considered Premises Liability in Mississippi?

Premises liability law in Biloxi and all of Mississippi holds a business owner or even a private property owner liable for any damages arising from an injury on their property, if it can be proven that there was a lack of care exhibited to maintain safe conditions. In Mississippi, owners or occupiers of a property are required to take reasonable steps to maintain safe conditions, such as repairing known hazards or making sure that those on the premises are well aware of the danger.

The object of a premises liability claim is to acquire economic restitution for the injured person’s damages based on the fact that the individual or business responsible for the property violated the duty of care they owed to visitors.

Types of Biloxi Premises Liability Accidents

Premises liability cases encompass a wide variety of accidents, including:

  • Trip and fall/slip and fall accidents
  • Swimming pool accidents
  • Negligent security
  • Attractive nuisances/Injuries to children
  • Fires
  • Structure collapse
  • Construction accidents
  • Escalator accidents/Elevator accidents
  • Falling objects
  • Vending machine tip-over
  • Food poisoning
  • Heavy machinery accidents
  • Amusement park accidents

Who Is Responsible for an Accident on Private Property?

Let’s say that one day you attend a cookout hosted by a neighbor or a friend in the Biloxi area. After being welcomed into their home, you get hurt by tripping on part of a walkway that has cracked, uneven cement. The homeowner apologizes, stating he knew that part of the walkway was damaged and has been meaning to get it fixed but he just hasn’t gotten around to it. In this example, if you decided to file a premises liability claim, the homeowner’s insurance policy would most likely handle the claim and cover any financial damages you incurred.

If you sustained an injury while visiting a rental home, either the tenant or the landlord could be liable for your accident. For instance, if the lease says that the area around the front door of the unit is to be kept free of debris and you hurt yourself tripping over a moving box that the tenant left sitting by their front door, liability for your accident might fall on the tenant. If, however, you were in a common area of the apartment complex and slipped and fell on a crumbling part of the sidewalk that was left unrepaired and was not marked with warning signs or roped off in any way, then the landlord will probably be held liable.

The best way to establish who is liable for your premises liability case is to contact an experienced Biloxi premises liability lawyer from the Mama Justice – MW Law Firm. We will review your accident during a free consultation and determine the best course of action.

How Much Are Biloxi Premise Liability Cases Worth?

A case’s total value ultimately rests on the nature and severity of the resulting catastrophic injuries along with the emotional and monetary effect the accident has on the victim. Truly, the best way to get a feel for how much your Biloxi premise liability claim is worth is to speak with an attorney.

Generally speaking, the more serious your injuries and the greater your medical expenses, the higher the value of your claim. While you can certainly go online and Google “personal injury calculators” or something similar and find thousands of websites that will offer to assign a dollar amount to your premises liability case, these calculators are usually inaccurate and commonly give estimates that are way off base. A practiced attorney who has listened to the details of your specific case is much more likely to give an accurate estimate.

The majority of Biloxi premise liability claims will include both economic damages (tangible monetary losses caused by your injuries, such as hospital bills, lost income, and damages) and non-economic damages (subjective non-monetary losses, like the pain and suffering of the injury and recovery process, and any associated distress or emotional trauma).

Categories of Visitors

In any Mississippi premises liability case, one of the most vital factors to be considered is why the injured person was on the defendant’s property in the first place. The legal category of a visitor under which the victim falls will determine if and how their personal injury claim is pursued.

Invitee

An invitee is someone who enters a home or business with the express or implied invitation of the manager, owner, or occupant for business purposes, such as a shopper at a grocery store, or a delivery person. Invitees are owed the highest duty of care by property owners, who are required to keep the premises safe and to warn invitees if a potentially hazardous situation is present.

Licensee

A licensee is someone who comes onto the property for social purposes or purposes unrelated to business. They have either the implied permission of the manager, owner, or occupant, or they have a license. Therefore, the owner has a duty to the licensee to not cause them deliberate injury, as well as to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition.

Trespasser

A trespasser is someone who has neither invitation, license, nor any other right to enter the property. A trespasser enters a property for reasons that benefit only them, and, according to case law, without implied or express guarantee of safety. It is important to keep in mind, however, that if the manager, owner, or occupant deliberately causes harm to a trespasser, the court could, in some cases, side with the trespasser.

How is a Property Owner’s Liability Determined?

In order for your Biloxi premises liability lawsuit to be successful, there are several elements that you, the injured claimant, will have to prove. To be entitled to collect financial compensation, you will have to show that:

  • The manager, owner, or occupant created, was aware of, or should have been aware of the hazardous condition.
  • The manager, owner, or occupant did nothing to repair the hazardous condition in a timely manner and failed to properly alert visitors to the situation.
  • These actions or inaction of the manager, owner, or occupant resulted in an accident that caused your injury.
  • The accident caused you to sustain various injuries and damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, reduced quality of life, pain and suffering, and more.

Although these elements may seem straightforward and therefore easy to prove, they typically require an intricate knowledge of Mississippi’s personal injury laws in order to do so successfully. A skilled Biloxi premises liability lawyer can help collect and examine evidence to determine whether or not a manager, owner, or occupant is responsible for an injury that occurred on their property.

The Most Common Causes of Premises Liability Accidents

The number one kind of premises liability accident is a slip and fall. When a property owner fails to keep their floors and walkways free from obstacles and other dangers, it can lead to a fall accident. If an injury occurs, the property owner could be held accountable for the ensuing damages.

Slip and fall accidents, as well as other types of premises liability accidents, can take place due to a variety of unsafe conditions and safety hazards, such as:

  • Sharp corners or edges
  • Faulty wiring/Outdated electrics
  • Unleashed or unfenced dogs
  • Negligent security / Inadequate security
  • Wet flooring
  • Icy stairways or walkways
  • Broken floor tiles
  • Loose floorboards
  • Missing or broken handrails
  • Uneven walkways and surfaces
  • Defective or unmaintained sidewalks
  • Parking lot potholes
  • Unmarked stairs
  • Liquid spillage
  • Extension cords
  • Inadequate or no lighting

These and other dangerous scenarios can be found in private homes, retail properties, and on commercial properties. The person responsible for the property needs to be held liable, whether the accident involved a swimming pool injury, dog bite, or some other serious injury. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you could be eligible to recover compensation for your Biloxi premise liability accident.

What Happens if the Injured Party is Partly to Blame?

If you are found to be partly at fault for your own accident and injuries, you could still be eligible to recover financial compensation although it will be reduced by an amount that is proportional to your percentage of fault. In other words, if you are determined to be 25% liable for the accident, you may still be able to collect 75% of their awarded damages.

Anyone who is unsure of their own degree of fault in a premises liability case will benefit from meeting with a reputable Biloxi premises liability attorney.

Attractive Nuisance and Child Trespassers

As mentioned earlier, Mississippi business and property owners do not generally have a duty to ensure that their property is safe for adult trespassers. Child trespassers, however, are another matter entirely. If a child trespasser is hurt or killed as a result of an “attractive nuisance”, the business or property owner could be held accountable. Some examples of what qualifies as an attractive nuisance are:

  • Trampolines
  • Hot tubs
  • Swimming pools
  • Jungle gyms
  • Swings, merry-go-rounds, slides, sandboxes, and other playground-type equipment
  • Appliances, like a deep freeze or a refrigerator
  • Old cars
  • Treehouses
  • Tractors
  • Unattended power tools
  • Gravel or sand piles
  • Fountains, ponds, and lakes
  • Tunnels
  • Wells
  • Dangerous animals

Why Should I Work With a Premises Liability Attorney?

Aside from the many complexities one must navigate in Mississippi law, there are other reasons why you should not attempt to pursue a premises liability claim without legal counsel. If there are insurance companies involved, that is presumably who you would expect to receive the payout from in the event you win your case, but insurance companies are notorious for refusing to pay, or low balling the settlement amount, particularly in situations where the injured party does not have legal representation.

Additionally, our Biloxi premises liability lawyers know the ins and outs of these types of cases and will make absolutely sure that you have the best possible case built with solid evidence. Your outcome will be much more favorable with the right lawyer, allowing you to get the compensation you deserve to focus on healing and moving on with your life.

If you were hurt in a Mississippi premises liability accident, you should speak with one of our attorneys as soon as possible. We will be able to handle every aspect of your case and help you recover the damages you are entitled to.

Mama Justice – MW Law Firm has extensive experience and has helped hundreds of premises liability clients in the Biloxi, MS area. Contact us at (888) 242-4603 to schedule your free initial consultation.