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ascertained by reasonable inspection and
supervision.
Even though a property owner owes any lawful visitor these duties, the visitor
has a duty to exercise reasonable care. This is especially true in premises
liability cases. Our courts have repeatedly stated that the visitor owes a duty
to themselves to keep a proper lookout for dangerous conditions. If a condition
or hazard causes them injury, and if they could have detected or avoided such
condition or hazard by keeping a proper lookout, then the visitor was
contributorily negligent, or negligent themselves, and cannot recover.
Additionally, if the condition or hazard was obvious or the person knew of it,
the injured person will usually be considered to be contributorily negligent.
Most lawyers will tell you that premises
liability cases are some of the most difficult cases to win in North Carolina.
This is mainly due to the fact that more often than not, regular, ordinary
people on a jury will believe that someone should have been watching where they
were walking, and if they did, then they would have seen the problem. While we
all know that is not always true, nonetheless some jurors will believe that and
find an injured person to be contributorily negligent, and thus precluding any
recovery.
Additionally, difficulty arises with the manner
in which one fell. Particularly, where a person has slipped or tripped, the
injured person must show that the property owner knew or should have known of
the problem and did not fix it. It is somewhat rare to find a property owner who
knew of a danger and did not correct it. Many times a property owner does not
know of the danger. Thus, the injured person must show that the property owner
should have known of the problem, which involves evidence of how long the
condition existed, how apparent was it, and so forth. However, the more obvious
the danger is, and more likely the property owner should have known of it, the
more likely it is the injured person should have seen it as well. As you can
see, the evidence does not only point towards one person in some cases.
So, if you are injured on someone else’s
property, just because they own it doesn’t necessarily mean they are responsible
for your injuries. You should immediately consult with a lawyer who can ask the
right questions to see if the facts surrounding your injury will or will not
support a claim against the property owner. |
