Duties to Entrants Owned by Landowners and Occupiers

Common law principles, which are still followed by many states, dictate that property owners and occupiers have different responsibilities depending on how the occupier is classified under current legislation.  Individuals who are on another person’s property are classified into three categories: invitees, licensees, and trespassers.  Each classification creates unique duties for the property owner and will ultimately affect an injured victim’s ability to recover damages.  A California personal injury attorney can help explain the differences between the classifications and how each could affect a potential slip and fall claim.

Negligence

Slip and fall cases are generally brought to bare because of the belief that the property owner acted in a negligent way.  In order to establish negligence the injured victim must prove a number of elements.  It must be shown that the owner (defendant) had a duty to provide a reasonable degree of safety on their property and that they failed to uphold that duty.  Then, the action, or lack of action on behalf of the owner must have caused the victim’s injury.

Classification of Entrants

Individuals who enter the property of another are general classified into invitees, licensees, or trespassers.  The duty of the property owner is different based on each of these classifications.

While most states still adhere to these common law classifications today, there are some that have rejected these classes of entrants when determining the liability of the property owner.  Some jurisdictions have adopted laws that specify an owner must provide reasonable care on their property under all circumstances.  When this is the case, the status of the entrant is considered a determining factor when deciding whether the victim’s injury was foreseeable and was the landowner negligent.

Invitees

An invitee is an individual who enters someone’s property in response to either an express or implied invitation from the owner.  This includes customers of retail stores, the shopping mall, and restaurants.  The owner in these instances owes the highest duty of care to invitees.  The duties of the owner includes to warn invitees of non-obvious, dangerous condition which are known to the owner, to operate the on their property with reasonable care, and to make reasonable inspections to discover dangerous conditions and make them safe.  In general the owner does not have to warn invitees about a dangerous condition if it so obvious that the invitee should be expected to see it.

There is no precise way to measure “reasonable care.”  The law defines reasonable care as what a person of normal intelligence and judgment would do under any given circumstances.  For example, it would be reasonable for a restaurant owner to inspect the condition of the business hourly to look for spills or other dangerous conditions and make them safe when discovered.

Licensees

A licensee is a person who enters another person’s property with express or implied permission but is there for their own purposes rather than that property owner’s benefit, such as a social guest.  The owner of the land has a duty warn a licensee about dangerous conditions known to the owner, which pose a reasonable risk of harm and are not likely to be discovered by the licensee.  In addition, the owner has a duty to use reasonable care in the operation of the property while the licensee is on the premises.  Unlike with an invitee, in the case of a licensee, the owner has no duty to inspect for defects or fix known defects.

Trespassers

A trespasser is someone who enters another person’s property without the owner’s permission.  Property owner’s have no duty to take reason care of their property for undiscovered trespassers.  If the owner knows about the trespasser, they have the duty to take reasonable care to warn the trespasser of conditions that the landowner knows is dangerous and likely to cause serious bodily harm or death, that are unknown to the trespasser.  In addition, the owner has the duty to exercise reasonable care when performing operations on their property.

Trespassing Children-The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

In general, an owner has a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid foreseeable risks of harm to children on their property.  This rule generally recognized because it is reasonable to believe that children are sometimes drawn to dangerous conditions such as large machinery, swimming pools, abandoned wells, lumber piles, elevators, or abandoned automobiles.  These hazards are known as “attractive nuisances” because children are often unaware of the risks these situations pose.  In order to establish that a land owner has a duty to provide reasonable care under these conditions, it must be shown that the owner is aware of a dangerous condition on their property, the owner knows children are often in the areas of the dangerous condition, which is likely to cause injury that cannot be appreciated by the child, and the expense to fix the conditions is minimal compared to the risk.

Conclusion

The duties that a land or property owner or occupier owe to an entrant often depend upon the entrant’s legal status as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser.  If you have been injured on another person’s property you may be entitled to collect monetary damages to help pay your medical bills and ease your pain and suffering.  Contact a San Diego premises liability attorney for your free consultation today. The Law Office of Howard Alan Kitay serves all of San Diego County and there are no fees until you collect your settlement.

• Overview
• Frequently asked questions
• Common causes of slip and fall accidents
• Liability of retail stores and other businesses
• Duties to entrants owned by landowners and occupiers
• Slip and fall accidents involving snow or ice