Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

During this time of year, many of us visit friends and family for at least a day, if not a few days. While many of us consider premises liability issues -- such as anything that might cause slip and fall accidents or injuries on our properties -- when we are hosts, we sometimes forget that when we go away we also have a responsibility to ensure that our homes are safe and secure. Here are some ways to avoid premises liability issues when you are away:

1) Make sure that areas leading up to and away from your home are kept clean and clear in your absence. Delivery personnel, your mail carrier, and other business related persons might still need access to your property when you are away. If one of these people is injured while you are away, you could still be held liable if you do not take proper steps to ensure that your property is safe while you're away. If you need to, consider hiring someone to check in on the property.

2) Secure your pool. If you have a pool, check and double-check to ensure that it is correctly secured. Keep in mind that if a curious child wanders onto your property and this results in a pool accident or near drowning incident, you could be held liable if you did not take proper precautions to secure the area. Ensure that your pool is surrounded by a fence and a locked gate.

3) Secure your property. Keeping your property safe from intruders not only provides you with peace of mind while you're away, but it can help prevent serious legal ramifications in case a child or teenager wanders onto your property and becomes injured while you are away. If you have a security system, make sure that it is activated before you leave. Consider adding timer lights to your property so that it does not look empty.

5) Consider hiring someone to stay at your home if you will be way for an extended period of time. Consider hiring a service or having a loved one stay at your home for a few days. This will help prevent possible break in, and will ensure that your property is correctly looked after.

During the holidays, many of us open our homes to family, friends, and even strangers. In addition, we are often receiving more packages and greeting more delivery personnel at our doors as holiday packages and deliveries arrive. However, extra traffic in your home can mean more property liability concerns. If someone has a slip and fall accident on your property or harms themselves on your property, you could face unpleasant legal problems as well as personal worry. You don’t need the extra stress during this time of year. To keep everyone visiting your property safe this year, follow these steps:

1) Take a stroll around your property with an eye to any damage or possible safety risks. Look at your roof, your walkways, and the yard in front and behind your home. Take a look inside, where stairs may be a problem. Do you see any dangers that need repairing? Uneven walkways, poorly lit door areas, low-hanging ornaments at the entryway – all of these things can cause serious personal injury. Take care of them now, before someone gets hurt. Also, if you own a pool, take a moment to ensure that the pool area is securely closed up and safe for the season.

2) Hire someone to keep your property carefully trimmed or take care of tidying your property yourself. Keeping your property free of objects and debris that can cause a slip and fall accident is vital. Overgrown bushes, low-hanging branches and scattered toys can cause a serious accident, as can wet leaves, rain, and other weather conditions. Keep your property safe and tidy or hire a service to take care of the property for you.

3) Keep your property well lighted if you reasonably expect someone may drop by. If you expect visitors or if you are receiving packages or deliveries due to the holiday season, turn on your outdoor lights promptly after dark so that delivery personnel and visitors do not have to trip their way to your door in the dark.

4) Make a plan to prevent drunk driving accidents. If you are serving alcohol at holiday parties, make sure that guests can get home safely. Do not allow guests who have been drinking to drive home. Offer rides home from designated drivers or set up sleeping areas for guests who have imbibed too much good cheer. These simple steps can help ensure that loved ones remain healthy and safe.

5) If you plan on traveling during your holiday, secure your property. If you will travel during the holidays, place a hold on your mail, newspaper, and usual deliveries. Put your lights on timers or have a trusted friend drop by to check on your home periodically. You do not want someone ruining your holiday with a break-in and you do not want someone wandering onto your property and harming themselves.

During the autumn, when children are at school and you spend more time ferrying children to activities after school, your home may be empty for longer periods of time. As well, your children may be inviting more friends over after school and on weekends. Now is the time to make your

1) Take care of any needed repairs before winter. A gate that needs repairs? A leaky roof? Now’s the time to take care of it, while contractors can still easily access everything any before winter weather makes access to some areas more tricky.

2) Close up your pool for the summer. Clean your pool one last time, have one last pool party and close your pool up safely for the fall. You are responsible for preventing pool injuries and drowning. Make sure that the pool is securely covered and protected with a locked gate for the season.

3) Set up a fall maintenance schedule. If you have landscapers, make sure that they are now taking care of leaves, and any puddles of mud or water that may accumulate. If you do your own yard work, create a checklist to ensure that your yard is free of debris and other hazards.

4) Switch to fall lighting. If you have a timer for outdoor lighting, set it back now that days are shorter. You may also need additional lighting near walkways and steps to keep these areas safe. If you turn on your outdoor lights yourself manually, turn them on earlier in the evenings.

5) Do a quick once-over of your property. The seasons are a great chance to check up on your property. Do a once-over inside and outside your property. Are there obvious hazards or possible hazards that need your attention? Are your smoke alarm batteries fresh? Are all doors and windows secure? Are all areas even for walking and free of obstructions? Now is the time to address any issues.

Many families choose to move into a new home during the summer, before the school term starts. If you and your family will be moving this summer, be aware that moving day can be not only hectic, but also brings with it some unique dangers. Before you disconnect your utilities and before you head for your new home, consider these moving-day tips to keep everyone safe:

1) Hire movers who are insured and bonded. Hiring non-professionals may be less expensive, but if someone gets injured on the job, you and your insurance may be responsible for any personal injuries and medical bills. Also, if your items arrive damaged, you may not have much recourse unless your movers are properly insured. Check references and insurance carefully.

2) Keep children away from movers and moving trucks. Movers will be carrying large boxes, which can reduce their field of vision. Small children can be accidentally stepped on or can cause movers to fall. Never let your children play where the movers are doing their job and always keep children well away from the moving professionals. Moving trucks are also large and have many blind spots. Never let children play outside when moving trucks are pulling into or off of your property.

3) Consider placing all items to be moved in one room. This will help reduce the number of stairs movers must climb. At the very least, carry all the light and smaller boxes into the room closest to the door. This way, movers will have to carry fewer items over long distances.

4) Be certain to remove all small objects from the floor before the movers arrive. If you have small toys or objects (such as packing tape or scissors) on the floor, there is a chance that someone – either the movers or someone in your family -- will slip and fall on these items. By the time the movers arrive, everything should be packed or at least out of the way.

5) Do a quick sweep before you move to make sure that there are no slip and fall accident dangers. Whether you are moving yourself or getting movers, check the path you or the movers will have to make from each item to the driveway. If there are any obstructions, remove them. Even a single overlong branch can lead to an accident. If there are stairs or any hazards that cannot be removed, make sure that you mark them clearly if you have hired movers.

Summer is a time when many of us host events, have friends drop by and have work done on the house. All this can mean added visitors to your home, which means that now is a good time to re-evaluate the safety of your property. If a delivery person, worker, post office employee or other visitor to your home sustains a personal injury, has a slip and fall accident, or has an accident, you could be held responsible.

Many of us assume that we only need to worry about premises liability in the winter, when less natural light and wetter conditions increase the likelihood of accidents. However, summer also has its unique hazards which can result in injuries and legal problems. More outdoor work and play can mean that more objects are left around the yard. Insects can set up nests on your property. Dogs are often relegated to the outdoors in the summer, where they can pose a risk for visitors.

There are, however, several things that homeowners can do to ensure that their homes remain safe and welcoming throughout summer:

1) Regularly clean your yard, walkway, and driveway of tripping obstacles and leaves. Remove leaves quickly, as they can get very slippery after a summer shower. Get in the habit of removing toys and tools from your yard when you head back indoors. Before retiring for the evening, make it a habit to look over your property to make sure that there are no tripping obstacles.

2) Make sure that painted stairs and asphalt have traction strips. Traction strips are available at your local hardware store and are important, since painted stairs and asphalt can be very slippery.

3) Trim back tree branches and hedges. Be especially vigilant about thorny or sharp hedges that jut out into walking areas. Also, regularly check for overhead tree branches and for hedges and plants that grow over a walkway and pose a tripping hazards.

4) Remove bee and hornet nests from your property. Be especially careful about nests that are near entranceways, stairs, and walkways. An unsuspecting visitor can brush by a nest and unleash a swarm of stinging insects, which can be dangerous. For small nests, most hardware stores have kits. For larger nests, professional exterminators might be needed.

5) Keep dogs restrained. Keep your dog on a leash, especially if you know there are visitors, postal workers or other people coming to your property. Take your dog to obedience classes and keep your dog’s vaccinations up to date. Dog bites are a serious summer risk.

In the summer, when many of us have our pools open, pools can pose a serious danger as well as a property liability issue. Pools lead to serious personal injuries and drowning. An incorrectly maintained or inadequately supervised pool can lead to brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, and even fatalities. In addition to keeping your pool clean and inviting, you'll want to take steps to avoid pool accidents at your home.

Pool drains that resist UV degradation can pose a hazard because they create suction that can entrap children underneath the water, causing them to drown. It is important to install anti-entrapment devices on the drains to prevent body parts and hair from becoming trapped. In addition, properly sized drain covers are a must in order to keep drains clear and to prevent injuries.

If you have children, teach them not to play near the pool without adult supervision, and make certain that they do not remove drain covers or pool covers. Even if you take every precaution, you need to make sure that your children aren't inadvertently creating hazards in the pool area. If your child removes a drain cover, for example, someone could be injured and you could face many legal problems. Adult supervision should be available at the poolside any time someone is swimming and any time children are near the pool.

When no one is using your pool, make sure that you have a good pool cover covering the entire surface of the pool. If there's any standing water on the surface of a pool cover, it is good to remove this excess water. Small children can drown even in the small amount of water that can gather at the top of the pool cover. Before you swim again, make sure that you remove the pool cover completely.

It is important to surround your pool, hot tub, or spa with a good fence. The fence should be at least 4 feet high and should completely enclose the spa or pool to prevent anyone from entering your property and inadvertently harming themselves in the pool. The gates in the fence should have a self-latching mechanism and should be locked for your complete protection.

Now that the holiday season is here, most homeowners can expect more traffic in front of their home. Guests and family may be arriving for festivities. Delivery personnel may be arriving with packages of gifts. Carollers may be present in some communities and in some cases charities send out door-to-door solicitors at this time of year.

While most of us are happy to open our homes to guests at this time of year, more visitors can mean less time and a greater risk of premises liability problems. With winter conditions and less time to spend cleaning up, your premises may pose a risk for slip and fall injuries, which can lead to bone fractures, head injuries, and other serious injuries. To protect your guests and to protect yourself as a homeowner, remember to:

1) Do a through sweep of the premises before the holidays begin. Are there broken gates or lights that pose a danger? Is there a leaking gutter that is causing a pool of water to form on a walkway? Identify possible dangers and have them fixed promptly. For things that cannot be fixed at once, be sure to pose a notice about the danger to alert any visitors to the problem.

2) Take extra precautions if you are going away for the holidays. Even if you are away, you may be responsible for keeping your outside areas safe. If a child wanders into your backyard due to a faulty gate, for example, and falls into your pool, you may be held liable, even if you are not at home at the time of the incident. If you are going away for the holidays, secure your home very well and hire someone to check in on your property periodically.

3) Hire outside help if you cannot keep up with maintenance work. If you cannot keep your outdoor areas clean and safe, it may be best to hire contractors to clear away water, debris, and other dangers periodically.

4) Keep your home well-lit at night. Poor lighting contributes to many slip and fall accidents. Install motion-detector lights or bright lights along walkways to help visitors reach your home safely.

Usually, weather is not a very exciting topic, but today it is all that residents of New England have to talk about. Maine and other parts of the east coast have been hit with freezing temperatures and even snow. Florida is seeing thunderstorms and showers. Some forecasters are predicting that some Northern parts of Florida may be affected by cold temperatures or even freezing before the system moves out.

Snow and rain may be part of spring in various parts of the country, but Florida property owners need to be aware that weather conditions can lead to Florida premises liability claims. Each year, Florida attorneys see legal claims launched after someone is injured in a slip and fall accident or other accident on a property that is not properly maintained.

The truth is, Florida has a number of weather features that create the possibility of accidents and personal injury. Fog, rain, and showers are not uncommon in the region. Florida is not even a stranger to snow. The mid-1970s saw a number of cold snaps and even snowy conditions in 1977. Some Florida residents saw snow on Christmas day in 1989. While Southern Florida attorneys and their clients rarely have to put up with snow, all extreme weather conditions can create dangerous conditions that lead to accidents.

Florida property owners need to be aware of the weather and need to act to ensure that their properties are safe for home dwellers and for visitors. While homeowners are certainly not expected to control the weather or react instantly to bad weather, known hazards on a property can easily lead to a premises liability claim in bad weather.

If a property owner knows about a poorly lit walk, a leaky roof, or other problem and fails to fix it, bad weather can lead to serious problems. Not maintaining a property or not taking reasonable steps to prevent accidents can lead to a claim, and owners need to be aware that claims are more likely to be made after poor weather. For example, if a roof gable has been leaky for some time it may create puddles on a sidewalk after a rain. If a visitor slips and falls on a sidewalk and can prove that the owner knew about the gable but refused to fix it, that injured party can be entitled to damages under the law.

Continue reading "Spring is a Good Time to Bone up on Florida Premises Liability Laws" »

Most premises liability cases have to do with a specific location or premises. These cases are an issue when someone slips or becomes injured on another person’s property. A new case may take the definition of premises liability into cyberspace, however. A round of lawsuits filed in late January 2007 against social networking MySpace allege that the site failed to protect minors. Four families are suing the company, alleging their daughters were sexually assaulted after meeting men they had first encountered through MySpace. Attorneys representing the families claim that MySpace did not add security measures to the site, making minors vulnerable.

The website, owned by parent company News Corp., did eventually add some security features after widespread criticism that the site was doing nothing to protect minors. These security measures came too late, claim the victims’ families. In fact, the latest security features for MySpace – including a software program called Zephyr – were only released the same week the lawsuits were filed.

Experts in technology law have pointed out that message boards and social networking sites are not in fact required by law to have security features and in fact there are no laws governing the ways that these sites should operate. User agreements do ban specific illegal activities from sites, but each site is allowed to decide for itself how specific illegal activities will be stopped.

Another issue, claim technology experts, is how a large site such as MySpace can monitor and halt potentially illegal activity. Websites can use age verification and access controls, but these can always be circumvented by users. As many legal professionals have pointed out, web sites are not required by law to moderate their web sites, and doing so poses serious logistic challenges, especially on websites with heavy traffic.

Another challenge in the lawsuits will have to do with a lack of precedence. There simply have not been many previous cases like the one against MySpace, and that could make the families’ battle more difficult. In addition, a 2001 Florida's Supreme Court ruling could be an issue. The 2001 ruling found that in line with the U.S. Communications Decency Act of 1996, AOL was not liable for not policing chat rooms.

What is interesting about the MySpace case is that it is expected that the plaintiffs will opt for a "premises liability" argument. Although a web site is not usually considered a location or premises as such, creating this sort of argument allows the plaintiffs to argue that MySpace did not take adequate care to prevent foreseeable illegal acts.