Your Dothan, Alabama Premises Liability Attorneys

As the term implies, premises liability arises when someone is injured due to the negligent acts or omissions of the owner/operator of a premises. The property involved may be a retail business, a home or apartment, a hospital, or even a publicly owned location. Whatever the circumstance, it is important to know that merely getting injured on someone else’s property does not automatically create a premises liability case.

Understanding Premises Liability in Dothan, Alabama

Determining the Status of the Injured Party

First, it is important to determine the status of the injured party because this can impact the duty owed to that party by the premises owner.

  • Invitee: An invitee is present at the premises at the express or implied invitation of the owner or occupant and for a reason that carries a beneficial interest for the owner or occupant. The owner or occupant owes the invitee a duty to be reasonably certain that the invitee is not being invited into danger and to exercise ordinary care to render and keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition.
  • Licensee: A licensee enters the premises by invitation, permission, or acquiescence of the possessor for the licensee’s benefit, convenience, or pleasure. The duty owed by a property owner or occupant to a licensee is to avoid willfully or wantonly injuring them or negligently injuring the licensee after discovering the licensee is in a position of peril.
  • Social Guest: A social guest is on the premises for purely social reasons with no mutuality of benefit in a business or commercial sense. A social guest is owed the duty not to willfully or wantonly injure them nor to negligently injure them after discovering they are in a position of peril. This duty is very similar to that owed a licensee.
  • Trespasser: A trespasser is on the premises without invitation, express or implied. A trespasser may also attain that status when they initially enter the premises rightfully but then remain on the premises after consent or license to be upon the premises has been withdrawn. A trespasser is owed the duty that the premises owner or operator not intentionally injure them (nor lay a trap for them) and, after knowledge of the trespasser’s presence, to warn them of known dangers existing on the premises.

Common Defenses in Premises Liability Cases in Dothan, Alabama

In addressing whether liability attaches to a premises owner/operator for injuries suffered while the individual is upon the premises, one must also determine if there are any defenses available to the premises owner/operator. While a number of defenses exist in the law, the most common is generally referred to as the open and obvious defense. The law requires one to be reasonably aware of their surroundings such that if injury occurs due to a condition that the injured party should have, in the exercise of reasonable care, seen and avoided, liability will be found lacking. The issue of whether a given condition was in fact open and obvious so as to negate liability is generally left to a jury to decide, but there can be instances where a court decides the matter as a question of law.

Expertise in Complex Premises Liability Cases in Dothan, Alabama

Premises liability cases can be challenging and complex. The attorneys at The Cochran Firm – Dothan have decades of experience dealing with such complexities. That experience is used to benefit our clients as we diligently work for a successful conclusion. Each case is different, and each client is different. However, the positive effort put forth by our attorneys in each case remains the same.

Contingency Fee Basis

Our firm works on a contingent basis, meaning you do not have to worry about being billed on an hourly basis. Instead of an hourly fee, we retain a percentage of the recovery when the claim is successfully concluded, and only when it is successfully concluded.

Secure Fair and Just Compensation in Dothan,  Alabama with The Cochran Firm - Dothan

The attorneys with The Cochran Firm – Dothan have the knowledge and experience to secure fair and just compensation for you in the event you are injured due to premises liability. Our attorneys have represented people just like you for over forty years. When you need help following a premises liability incident, please feel free to call our office. At The Cochran Firm – Dothan, we are here when you need us.

National Reach with Local Expertise

Remember, the attorneys at The Cochran Firm – Dothan are part of the larger family of Cochran Firm offices located throughout the United States. For our clients, this means access to the collective knowledge and experience of a vast array of attorneys who have collectively won more than $30 billion on behalf of their clients. This means access to attorneys with particularized subject matter expertise in a broad range of personal injury cases, ranging from commercial vehicle litigation, medical malpractice matters, defective products, and more. Cochran Firm attorneys regularly lecture at continuing legal education seminars so that other attorneys may benefit from their vast experience with complex cases.

Areas We Serve

While the attorneys with The Cochran Firm – Dothan have worked with cases throughout the United States, our primary service area includes Alabama, Northwest Florida, and Southwest Georgia.