Virginia Premises Liability Lawyer

For many years, the premises liability lawyers of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen have served clients who, as customers or guests visiting public or private property, have been injured through the negligence of property owners, property managers, and business owners. Premises liability accidents can include "slip and fall accidents". If you or someone in your family have suffered a premises liability accident or a slip and fall accident, call the Allen Law Firm at 866-388-1307 for a free case consultation. Our premises liability attorneys will examine the facts and evaluate your claim.

Lawsuits arising out of the negligent construction and maintenance of property are referred to as premises liability cases. These accidents happen under a variety of circumstances. The following accounts describe some of the actual cases Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen attorneys have handled successfully for their clients:

• Walking down a staircase in the common area of her apartment building, a resident stumbles. She grabs the stair rail, but the negligently maintained railing gives way and she falls down the steps causing a severe ankle fracture.
• After laying tile in a hotel hallway, construction workers leave a stack of unused tiles next to an elevator door. A hotel customer, unaware of the obstacle, gets off the elevator and trips over the tiles suffering a severe injury.
• A restaurant customer walks down a corridor to the restroom. As she turns a blind corner, she steps into a hole in the floor and falls to the basement. Unknown to the customer, restaurant employees have left a trap door to the basement open after making a delivery to an underground storage area.
• Crossing the dimly lit parking lot to a convenience store at night, a customer falls and breaks a leg when she steps into a hole in the pavement.

Premises liability claims arise from injuries which occur on many types of property such as:

• Parking lots
• Grocery stores
• Apartment complexes
• Bars and restaurants
• Hotels and motor lodges
• Shopping centers and malls
• Sports stadiums and conference centers
• HospitalsPremises Liability Law in Virginia - What You Should Know

Premises Liability Law in Virginia - What You Should Know

Business owners owe a legal duty to customers and others lawfully visiting their premises to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition. Under certain circumstances, homeowners and private property owners may also be held legally responsible for personal injuries which occur on their property.

Virginia law governing premises liability cases is complex and can be especially challenging for plaintiffs. A property owner does not guarantee the safety of visitors on his premises. As a result, just because you are injured on another person's property or on the premises of a commercial establishment, you may not be able to bring a successful lawsuit even if you can prove there was a defect or unsafe condition on the property.

As the injured plaintiff, you must also prove:

• That the property owner had actual or constructive notice or knowledge of the defect or unsafe condition. Simply put, this means you must show (a) the property owner and/or his employees knew about the hazardous condition before your injury happened, or, (b) given the length of time the unsafe condition had existed, they should have known or been aware of it in the exercise of ordinary care;
• That it was foreseeable a customer or lawful visitor might be injured as a result of the defect or unsafe condition.

Keep in mind that a property owner may defend your claim by alleging you contributed to cause your injury because you failed to see an open and obvious hazard and were injured as a result. Under Virginia law, you bear responsibility for your own safety. If a jury believes you were contributorily negligent, you may lose your case.
Why do you need the help of an Allen, Allen, Allen and Allen attorney in a premises liability case?

• The lawyers at Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen have extensive experience representing clients who have been hurt due to the carelessness of a property owner.
• Our lawyers and trained investigators know how to investigate premises liability cases and gather the evidence necessary to prove your case.
• Allen and Allen attorneys understand the importance of finding experts like architects, engineers, human factors experts, safety engineers, and property management experts to support your case.
• With their extensive knowledge and training in premises liability law, the attorneys at the Allen Law Firm can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your case and recommend a course of action.

Prompt investigation may be essential to winning your case.

The investigation team at Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen is experienced in handling premises liability cases.

• Photographs should be taken of the unsafe condition and its surroundings before the property owner repairs it or otherwise destroys evidence of it. Our investigators are trained to take such photographs. You or a family member may want to take photographs as well.
• Interviews of the property owner, his employees, and/or eye witnesses may help establish fault in your case. Many questions need answers. How long had the unsafe condition existed? Did the property owner know of the hazard, and, if so, for how long? Had the property owner received complaints from others about the unsafe condition before your accident happened? From whom and when? In the past, had other persons been injured in the same way you were? Did a building code violation contribute to causing your injury?
• Immediate examination of the accident scene by safety engineers, human factors experts and other specialists may be crucial in determining how your accident happened and whether negligence was involved.

You can help too.

• Think hard about how and why your accident happened. What caused it? The information you have is vitally important to your case because property owners clean up, make repairs, and even reconstruct areas shortly after injuries occur on their premises.
• An accident scene can change dramatically in just a few minutes, a few hours or a few days. Jot down your recollection of the incident while it is fresh in your mind. For example, exactly what was it that struck you or made you fall? What did the object look like and where did it come from? If you slipped on a substance of some kind, what was it? What did it feel like? If the substance touched your clothing and/or shoes, save these items.
• If you have a camera or cell phone (that takes photos), photograph the location where you were injured as soon as possible.

Contact the premises liability lawyers who've been handling accident cases for over a century. Call Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen at 866-388-1307.