A slippery grocery aisle, an unlighted parking garage, an unfenced swimming pool – depending on the circumstances, situations like these can constitute negligence in property management. If so, the property owner or management's premises liability insurance carrier is responsible for losses suffered by those injured on the property.

Not every accident entitles the injured party to a premises liability claim. If someone you know was injured while a visitor on a commercial or residential property, and you would like legal advice about a claim, please feel free to contact our Kingston office and make arrangements for a free consultation with a premises liability attorney .

Business and Retail Premises Liability – a Higher Standard of Care

Businesses and retail stores encourage visitors to enter their premises, and are thus held to a higher standard of care than residential property owners. Rather than demonstrating care, some commercial establishments often actually take actions that create hazards for clients or customers.

• A retail store will often position attractive product displays in a way that draws attention away from the shoppers' pathway. As a result, a customer may trip over a pallet, slip on a piece of fruit, or be injured on an escalator or stairs, resulting in a serious back, knee, or neck injury that leads to chronic pain.
• A business may fail to perform regular safety inspections of equipment. If a delivery driver is directed to use a poorly maintained garage door which jumps its track, the driver may suffer a hand injury requiring amputation of a finger. A visitor to a factory or warehouse may be hit in the head when a forklift or pallet racking fails, resulting in traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• The manager of an apartment complex may ignore a report that a light has failed in a parking garage, hallway, or staircase, or that a lock or security panel is defective. As a result, a resident or visitor to the site may suffer a rape or other violent assault that results in painful injuries, a long struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or even death.

Commercial insurance liability policies will often cover any injury that occurs on the covered premises, without considering fault.

Attractive Nuisance – Commercial and Residential Premises Liability

If a homeowner fails to keep children away from or fence off hazards children are naturally attracted to, such as construction projects, swimming pools, heavy equipment, even vicious dogs, the children and their families may be entitled to compensation under the liability insurance that typically is part of a homeowner's insurance policy. Likewise commercial establishments are expected to consider children when managing their premises.