Seattle Premises Liability Lawyer

Premises liability refers to the responsibility of a property owner to provide reasonably safe premises for the safety of others on their property. This duty extends to all property open to the public, including stores, government buildings, municipal swimming pools, amusement parks and playgrounds, and even city streets and sidewalks. Places of accommodation, including hotels and casino resorts as well as apartments or rental properties, are covered as well. If an accident or injury occurs on these premises because the owner was somehow negligent in allowing the accident to occur, the injury victim can hold the property owner liable for the harm incurred, including compensation for medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and other legal damages.

Premises liability cases are often notoriously difficult to prove, and property owners and their insurers will go to great lengths to minimize their payout or avoid any liability at all if they can. The personal injury attorneys at Emerald Law Group can help. Our legal team has many years of experience helping slip and fall and trip and fall accident victims recover the full measure of compensation for their injuries, even in the most complex cases. Contact our experienced Seattle premises liability lawyers for a free consultation to discuss what happened and find out how we can help.

Comprehensive Seattle Premises Liability Attorneys

Our premises liability attorneys at Emerald Law Group handle every type of accident and injury occurring on premises throughout Seattle and surrounding communities in the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest. With experience across a wide range of premises liability cases and injuries ranging from soft tissue sprains and strains to the most catastrophic injuries or wrongful death, you can count on Emerald Law Group for focused, dedicated representation in any premises liability matter, including:

Legal Liability for Dangerous Premises in Washington State

Washington’s premises liability law holds property owners liable for accidents or injuries that occur on their property due to the property owner’s negligence. Negligence in this sense means that the owner allowed a hazardous condition to exist on the property and did not fix it or warn the public about the danger in a reasonable time.

Property owners might not be liable for every accident that occurs on their property. Typically, one of the following conditions must be present to hold the owner liable:

The hazard was created by the owner or an employee
The owner or staff knew or should have known about the danger but failed to correct it or put up a warning within a reasonable time

What constitutes a “reasonable time” can be a challenging part of a premises liability case to prove. For instance, if a customer spills a drink on the floor, creating a slipping hazard, how long must the condition exist before it is considered to be there for an unreasonably long time without being cleaned up or an employee putting up a “wet floor” sign? The answer to this question can differ depending on the circumstances. If the property is open to the public, it is reasonable to expect employees to conduct routine, periodic inspections of the property to look for spills or other hazards and remedy them promptly. If the premises is one where a spill or dropped merchandise is more likely to occur, such as a grocery store, restaurant, nightclub, clothing store or toy store, then one might reasonably expect employees to inspect the property more often.

Emerald Law Group Can Help You Win Your Premises Liability Case

Property owners and their insurers don’t want to pay large settlements to resolve premises liability claims and will do what they can to minimize payouts or avoid liability. They might approach the victim immediately after the accident with an offer to settle, but be wary. They are likely only offering to cover your immediate medical expenses and perhaps a small amount extra for your troubles to make it look like they are being generous. What they are really trying to do is settle your claim before you have a chance to talk with a lawyer or find out how serious your injury is and how much it will really cost you. If you’ve already taken their payment, it’s too late to do anything about it, even if you later realize your costs and needs are much higher.

If you do get a lawyer, the insurance company might still try several ways to push back and limit their liability. While some premises liability injuries can be quite gruesome, many times the injury is of the soft tissue type, or the full extent of the injury is not visibly apparent. Insurers use this fact to downplay how serious or painful the injury truly is, leading to a lowball settlement offer that doesn’t reflect what you are going through. Another tactic is to lay at least some of the blame on the victim, saying you weren’t watching where you’re going, for instance. Any portion of blame they put on you decreases the amount they would be required to pay.

At Emerald Law Group, our experienced Seattle premises liability lawyers know how to value a premises liability case and how to prove the facts to the insurance company outside of court or to a jury at trial. We know how to ensure you get proper medical care, how to settle when the time is right, and how to litigate as needed to see to it you are fully compensated for all the harm done to you. We have successfully represented many premises liability victims and apply that experience to our dedicated representation in every case.

Contact Emerald Law Group Today

For help getting care and compensation after a slip and fall, trip and fall, or other debilitating accident that occurred on someone’s dangerously unsafe property, call the experienced Seattle premises liability lawyers at Emerald Law Group for a free consultation. There’s no fee if we don’t win compensation for you.

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