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In premises liability cases, a property owner owes a specific duty of care to ensure the safety of individuals on his or her property.
At Buckley & Associates in Seattle and Tacoma, our premises liability attorneys are dedicated to seeking justice for victims who have been injured on another’s property. Call us today at 206-558-8441 to speak with one of our multi-lingual staff members about resolving your legal case.
Levels of Duty
Washington law recognizes three different categories of visitors to property: invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Your legal case for recovery for your injuries depends on which category you belong to because a landowner owes each category a different duty of care.
Invitees
An invitee enters the owner’s property for a business purpose. They are called an invitee because they are either expressly or impliedly invited onto the property.
The property owner owes invitees the highest duty of care. For invitees, the property owner is expected to regularly inspect the property for hazards, fix known dangers, and warn the invitee if there are hazardous conditions present.
Licensees
A licensee enters another’s property for social purposes.
The property owner is required to keep the property free of dangerous conditions and demonstrate reasonable care in the care and maintenance of the property. The owner has no obligation to a licensee toinspect the property for unknown hazards.
Trespassers
A trespasser enters the property without the landowner’s permission.
The property owner cannot purposely harm the trespasser, but the owner does not owe a duty to watch out for the well-being of a trespasser.
However, trespassers who are children are still owed a duty of care by the owner because they often mistakenly cross property boundaries or are drawn there by an attractive nuisance such as a swimming pool.
If you or your loved one has suffered injuries because of a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, we can help. Please contact Buckley & Associates for your free consultation. Our lawyers represent clients throughout the Seattle and Tacoma areas and the state of Washington.
