Indianapolis Premises Liability Attorneys
Property Owner Liability in Indiana
Property owners—both public and private—have certain responsibilities to visitors. In general, they must adequately maintain their properties, follow applicable building codes and regulations, remove or repair hazards, and warn visitors of any condition that could cause foreseeable injury. When they fail to uphold this duty of care, and innocent people are injured as a result, negligent property owners can be held civilly liable for victims’ damages.
If you were injured on someone else’s property due to a dangerous condition or hazard, you could have grounds for a personal injury case. At Hovde Dassow + Deets, our Indianapolis premises liability lawyers have an in-depth understanding of the law, as well as more than a century of combined legal experience. We can help you understand your options and pursue the maximum compensation you are owed for your damages.
Call us today at (317) 576-3241 or contact us online using our secure submission form. Your free consultation!
What Is Premises Liability Law?
Premises liability law refers to the obligations property owners and landlords have to different types of visitors. The degree of liability a property owner may have depends on the status of the visitor.
There are three different types of visitors recognized by Indiana premises liability law:
- Invitee: An invitee is someone who is implicitly or expressly invited to a property for the benefit of the property owner. Examples include an invited house guest or a customer in a retail store. Indiana property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees.
- Licensee: A licensee is someone who has not been expressly or implicitly invited to a property but is, nevertheless, there legally. An example would be someone who stops at a gas station to use the bathroom, despite not purchasing gasoline for their vehicle.
- Trespasser: A trespasser is someone who does not have the property owner’s expressed or implied permission to be on the premises and is not there for any lawful purpose. Someone who enters a neighbor’s backyard without permission is trespassing.
While property owners owe varying duties of care to both invitees and licensees, the only responsibility they have toward trespassers is to refrain from causing willful injury or intentionally increasing the risk of injury or harm.
To sue a property owner or landlord after an accident or injury-causing event, there are several things you must prove:
- The property owner or landlord owed you a duty of care, typically meaning you were an invitee or licensee
- The property owner or landlord failed to uphold this duty of care, for example, by conducting inadequate property maintenance, failing to remove hazards, or failing to post warnings
- You were injured and/or suffered measurable economic or non-economic damages, such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost income
- The property owner or landlord’s failure to uphold the duty of care was the actual or proximate cause of your injuries and/or damages
- If you were partly at fault for the incident that caused your injury, you were not more than 50 percent negligent or at fault
At Hovde Dassow + Deets, our Indianapolis premises liability attorneys carefully review and investigate claims to determine exactly what happened and who is liable. We leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of maximum compensation for each and every one of our clients.
Dangerous Property Conditions
Most premises liability cases involve hazards or dangerous property conditions that lead to injuries or deaths. If you were injured or if someone you love died due to a dangerous property condition or hazard, you must prove that the property owner or manager knew about the dangerous condition or hazard (or reasonably could have known about it) but did nothing to remove, repair, or warn others of it to have a case.
Some examples of dangerous property conditions and hazards include:
- Wet or slippery floors
- Defective steps or stairs
- Missing handrails
- Torn or ripped carpeting
- Uneven floors
- Unmarked steps
- Poor lighting
- Cluttered walkways and aisles
- Defective guardrails
- Potholes
- Accumulated ice or snow
- Locked emergency exit doors
- Improper or missing signage
- Negligent security guards
- Insufficient security cameras or floodlights
- Unrestrained animals
- Unsafe swimming pools
- Poorly maintained elevators or escalators
- Defective sidewalks
These and other dangerous conditions can lead to serious accidents, from slips, trips, and falls to dog bites and attacks, even to assault. Our Indianapolis premises liability lawyers understand the severity of these incidents, as well as the importance of helping victims and their loved ones obtain justice.
Types of Premises Liability Cases We Handle
At Hovde Dassow + Deets, we represent clients in all types of premises liability matters, including cases involving:
- Slip and falls
- Dog bites/animal attacks
- Negligent security
- Swimming pool accidents
- Amusement park accidents
- Elevator and escalator accidents
We have successfully brought claims against private landowners, homeowners, businesses, corporations, government agencies, municipalities, landlords, and other entities. To date, our attorneys have recovered more than $300 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients—and we are prepared to fight for you, too.
Our firm offers highly personalized and compassionate legal representation. We have been serving the state since 1967 and have been ranked as a Tier 1 law firm in Indiana for personal injury litigation in the areas of plaintiffs’ personal injury and product liability. When you trust your case to our firm, a partner attorney will be directly involved from the start.
There are no fees unless we recover compensation for you. Call (317) 576-3241 or contact us online 24/7 to schedule a free consultation.
Hear From Our Happy Clients
-
"Words can not express how exceptional Rick Hovde and Kelly Faulk are in the Field of Medical Malpractice"
Words can not express how exceptional Rick Hovde and Kelly Faulk are in the field of Medical Malpractice. I had a back surgery that left me with a permanent disability. I contacted a personal injury law firm who recommended Rick Hovde of Hovde Dassow + Deets. Thank God for thier recommendation. In my opinion Rick Hovde and his assistant Kelly Faulk are the best in the field of Medical Malpractice. Rick and Kelly helped me every step of the way through a difficult at best process from start to finish. Rick and Kelly helped keep me on track and we not only won the case Rick was able to get the maximum settlement allowed by Indiana State Law. I would highly recommend Rick Hovde to anyone. He gets a five star plus rating from me. Bob D.- Bob DHamlet, IN -
"We wouldn’t consider using any other attorneys."
Nick Deets has done a wonderful job representing myself as well as two of my daughters in personal injury accidents. We wouldn’t consider using any other attorney. He’s the best of the best. We recommend him to anyone we know who is looking for a personal injury attorney.- Elaine K. -
"Mr. Hovde and his staff were stellar in the way they handled our case!"
Mr. Rick Hovde was recommended to us by our personal attorney and a customer of ours with our family business. Mr. Hovde was also featured as one of the top 3 personal injury attorneys on the front of the Indianapolis Monthly publication. A few years back, I suffered the personal loss of my wife due to what I believe was medical malpractice. Mr. Hovde and his staff were stellar in the way they handled our case! Winning a medical malpractice case is no easy task, but he won ours. In my opinion, he is the best at what he does. I appreciated his attention to detail and was very impressed with his resolve to do the best job possible for a favorable outcome. I would strongly recommend Rick Hovde to anyone needing a great malpractice attorney.- LSC -
"Highly recommend Mr. Deets & would suggest that you consult with him first!"
I have had 2 fairly significant legal issues in the past few years and Nick Deets has represented me and a family member very professionally and thoroughly. Sometimes as a client we have preconceived feelings about our legal issues but Mr. Deets helped us sort through the emotions versus the legal issues and in the first case, he helped my family member out tremendously from a legal perspective and we had great results from his efforts. Not only did Mr. Deets give us great legal counsel and we had great outcomes, he personally assisted our family members receiving additional assistance in dealing with a very sensitive matter. Mr. Deets is a wonderful communicator but as a good lawyer must, he has to and must be frank with you about your legal case. If you want a great lawyer that is going to help you legally and not waste your time by telling you what you want to hear, then this law firm is the one you should select.
The second case that Mr. Deets assisted me within a personal injury case for me. Because of his reputation and our great relationship, I asked him for assistance with a personal injury case for myself. Mr. Deets is co-counsel on an out-of-state issue and because of his reputation, he referred me to a highly respected and successful attorney out of state. The case has yet to settle but once again Mr. Deets provided a great recommendation to me and he has helped me come to grips with the reality of my case and has been very helpful to me by answering questions I didn’t feel confident about asking my current attorney. Fortunately for me, they both concurred on my potential outcome and I feel my case is going to have a positive outcome for me.
The other thing I like about this firm is that if they cannot help you or feel someone else can represent you in a more favorable manner then they will refer you to another firm. I like and highly recommend Mr. Deets and would suggest that you consult with him before making a final decision on the attorney you want to represent you.- Charles P.
