REVERE PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

Whoever was injured carries the burden of establishing four things in a negligence case. Those four are a duty of care, a lapse in that duty, harm flowing from the lapse, and measurable loss. Motorists owe that duty to everyone using the road, as businesses do to each customer who walks in. Breach is shown by setting what was done beside what prudence would have required. Company policies, trade standards, and safety codes each shed light on that comparison.

Businesses and dog owners owe people reasonable safety.

Any business that admits the public must maintain the place in reasonably safe condition. That means inspecting regularly, repairing or blocking off hazards, and warning of dangers that cannot be removed. A sign alone will not do where a repair was feasible. A restaurant with a leaking ice machine, or a hotel with a broken stair light, is on notice once staff become aware. Notice also exists where the condition lasted long enough for diligent staff to discover. Cleaning, inspection, and repair records reveal whether the business lived up to that. Prior incidents in that location are especially telling.

Whoever owns or operates a property may also answer for crimes committed there. Bars, hotels, garages, and apartment complexes must take reasonable security measures where violence can be foreseen. Earlier police calls to that address help show the danger was foreseeable. Calls about fights, break-ins, and robberies are all relevant. Broken locks, missing guards, and unlit parking areas are failures that recur. Such matters go through our practice for victims of assault.

Dog owners and keepers are strictly liable for injuries their animals cause, subject to narrow defenses. Prior aggression by the animal need not be proven. Bites, scratches, and falls caused by a jumping dog all come within the rule. Home or business coverage at the address where the dog is kept normally answers the claim. A very young child is presumed incapable of provoking a dog.

Construction injuries to members of the public are increasingly common as redevelopment proceeds. Sidewalk closures push people on foot out among moving cars. General contractors are responsible for site safety, which includes fencing, signage, and covered walkways. Subcontractors answer for hazards they create. A site owner that kept control over the job may be liable alongside them. Several insurers are usually involved. Site logs and the minutes of safety meetings are demanded at once.

Insurance companies push back in familiar ways.

Shared fault leads the list of defenses raised by insurers. The insurer contends the claimant was careless, and whatever percentage is assigned comes off the recovery. When the claimant’s share is the larger one, the claim fails. At an even split, it survives. A fuller account of that rule is in our article on comparative fault. Evidence gathered at the outset usually determines how this argument fares. Where video exists, nothing answers the accusation better.

Insurers also contest whether the event really produced the harm complained of. Old medical records, gaps in treatment, or a minor-looking impact are cited in support. Someone with a prior condition is still owed compensation for its aggravation. Treating doctors speak to that question directly when they write their reports. A before-and-after comparison of records is the core of that opinion. That subject has its own piece on our site, about injuries that worsen an earlier problem.

A third defense holds that any visitor would have noticed the danger. An owner need not warn of dangers that any visitor would see and avoid. A curb or a flight of ordinary stairs falls in that category. That defense gives way where the owner should expect people to walk into the hazard all the same. Ice across the only entrance is a typical example. Another is a spill in the single aisle leading to a pharmacy counter. Views photographed from the visitor’s line of sight are useful on this point.

Generally an injury lawsuit is too late once a fixed period has ended. That period usually begins when the injury occurs, though later discovery can extend it in limited cases. Children have a further fixed period after reaching adulthood. Parents may act sooner on a child’s behalf, which is nearly always wiser. Evidence, however, will not wait that long. Surveillance systems, in particular, erase themselves within weeks. An overview of deadlines that apply to injury claims supplies more detail.

Stricter rules protect public bodies. State officials manage the beach and its boulevard, while a regional authority runs the rail stops and their garages. Presentment of the claim in writing is due to the proper official within a fixed period, and a cap applies to damages. City street and sidewalk defects call for notice in writing within a very short period afterward. Establishing which body is responsible therefore comes early.