Injured in Someone’s Home

Injured in Someone’s Home or on Someone’s Property

Injuries that occur in another’s home or on another’s property are often the basis for premises liability lawsuits. Commonly, injuries result from a slip-and-fall accident (e.g., ice on the front walk), a fall from an open window, or a strike from a loose, falling object. If you were injured in someone else’s home in Massachusetts and believe you may have a claim of negligence, you should seek representation immediately to protect your right to financial compensation for your loss. The Boston and Cambridge attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP are prepared to stand by you every step of the way. We have negotiated settlements and won jury judgments to cover extensive medical costs, lost wages wrongful death, and pain and suffering damages.

Importantly, your ability to recover from an accident on someone else’s property depends upon your “status” on the property–meaning the reason you came onto the property. An “invitee” is a person invited to enter the property for commercial or business purposes, such as a business client or a customer in a grocery store. The owner of the business or property must provide these customers with a certain level of protection and can be held legally responsible for patrons’ injuries–especially if the owner knew or should have known about an unsafe condition and did not attempt to remedy the situation.

By contrast, a “licensee”- is someone who visits another’s property for non-business (non-economic) purposes. Social guests are an example of licensees. Property owners have a duty to protect licensees from known dangers (e.g., if an owner knew his front walkway was broken and hazardous). Trespassers constitute the final and third “status.” Generally, property owners have no duty to protect trespassers from injury. Interestingly, however, the law requires a property owner who is aware that trespassers visit or cross over his land to provide these trespassers with some level of protection from potential hazards.

This legal terminology may, understandably, be confusing. The bottom line is that if you have been injured on another’s property, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to determine the viability of recovery. Our Massachusetts premises liability attorneys will work with a team of accident and premises liability experts to pursue your claim and handle your lawsuit. We will investigate whether there has been a history of similar accidents or that have occurred on the premises and whether the property owner could have done anything to prevent your injuries.

At Altman & Altman LLP we have the experience to assess liability from any type of accident. Some common premise liability cases include dog bites, accidents involving fires, swimming pool accidents, elevator and escalator accidents, amusement park accidents, and flooding accidents, to name a few. The most common and straightforward cases are slip and falls, which can include injuries from wet or oily floors, unsecured rugs or carpets, defective staircases, hidden extension cords, and a variety of other defective conditions.

Our attorneys have decades of experience and have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients over the years. Please do not hesitate to call, as every consultation is completely free. Furthermore, we represent these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you will not pay anything unless we are successful and win your case!