Kansas City Premises Liability Lawyers
Property owners owe a duty to keep their premises safe for people they expect to be on their property. A slip and fall or trip and fall can cause serious injury, including back or neck injuries, fractures and more. There are also many other ways people can get hurt when property owners do not take care to maintain their premises in a safe condition. When accidents happen because of the property owner’s neglect, the personal injury attorneys at Gorny Dandurand in Kansas City step in to hold them accountable for their negligence and make sure injury victims are fully compensated for the harm which has befallen them.
Gorny Dandurand represents clients harmed in any type of premises liability accident in Kansas City, throughout Kansas and Missouri, and across the country. Our firm’s premises liability practice encompasses all of the following types of accidents, among others:
- Slippery floors or entryways
- Icy sidewalks or entrances
- Food or drink spills
- Cracked or broken sidewalks
- Objects falling from shelves
- Electrical cords, products or boxes in the aisles
- Torn carpeting
- Unmarked steps
- Broken or missing handrails
- Malfunctioning escalators or misleveled elevators
- Exposed electrical wiring
- Missing or nonworking fire extinguishers or fire alarms
- Poorly-lit stairwells or parking garages
- Assaults due to inadequate security
- Assaults from untrained or unsupervised security personnel
The Duty to Keep Premises Safe
The duty on property owners to keep their premises safe differs from state to state. Some states, such as Missouri, classify people on another’s property as either invitees, licensees, or trespassers. In these states, the property owner owes a higher duty to invitees than licensees, and to licensees than trespassers. Whether a property owner must inspect the property and fix any hazards, or merely warn of known dangers, depends on the status of the individual to whom the duty is owed. In other states, such as Kansas, property owners owe the same level of duty to all persons on their property, which may include fixing any hazards or warning of any dangers which are not obvious to the customer or other person on the property.
The Difficulty of Proving Premises Liability, and How Gorny Dandurand can Help
In most slip and fall or other premises liability cases, it is necessary to prove that the property owner knew about the dangerous condition but failed to correct it or warn the public about it within a reasonable time. Proving that the property owner had actual knowledge about the hazard can be difficult, especially in cases where the danger was temporary or transient, such as in the case of a food or drink spill, or a slippery entrance. With decades of experience handling premises liability cases, the attorneys at Gorny Dandurand know how to properly investigate or reconstruct an accident and bring in industry experts as necessary to prove that the property owner either knew or should have known about the hazard but failed to make the property safe in a reasonable time frame.
It is important to act quickly after a premises liability accident, since evidence can easily disappear: spills can be cleaned up, defective property can be repaired, and security camera recordings can be erased. Be sure and notify management immediately after an accident, seek whatever medical attention is necessary, and follow up with an attorney as soon as possible. In Kansas City or anywhere throughout Kansas, Missouri or nationwide, call Gorny Dandurand at 816-756-5071 for a free consultation regarding your slip and fall or other premises liability injury.
