Connecticut Premises Liability Lawyer

Connecticut Premises Liability Attorney

When an injury happens due to the actions or inaction of another party, the effects can be devastating on the victims. Survivors are left to pay for their emotional and physical injuries out of their own pocket. Pursuing a legal case can help hold the responsible party accountable and help you recover your losses. Reach out to an experienced Connecticut premises liability lawyer to understand your legal rights and options under state law.

Hire a Premises Liability Lawyer From Suisman Shapiro Attorneys-At-Law

Suisman Shapiro has been a pillar in Connecticut’s legal community for over 80 years. Our attorneys are passionate about protecting our state’s more vulnerable communities during difficult times in life.

We offer free consultations to new clients at our office in New London. When you work with our Connecticut personal injury lawyers, you will be treated with empathy and respect from the very first handshake.

With our extensive experience in personal injury law, we have no trouble taking on tough cases. Let our skilled Connecticut premises liability attorneys take care of your legal case so you can focus on your recovery and well-being.

What Is a Premises Liability Case?

Premises liability cases happen when an owner of a premises fails to reasonably maintain it, leading to visitors getting hurt from dangerous conditions. This can happen in a variety of different situations, such as:

• A patron of a restaurant slips on a spilled drink on the floor that workers were aware of but had left uncleaned, leading to the patron becoming injured from falling. In the United States, 47,026 people died from falls at home and work, making up 21% of all preventable injury-related deaths that year.
• A driver in a parking garage is mugged by a criminal due to the lack of security cameras and security personnel, despite frequent similar crimes happening in the area.
• A customer of a short-term rental property is injured after falling on unstable flooring, when the owner of the rental knew about this hazard
• A workplace ignoring safety code violations, leading to a third-party contractor being exposed to hazardous chemicals and becoming ill from them. In 2022, there were 35,700 workplace injuries and illnesses throughout Connecticut. Every year, there are more than 190,000 illnesses and 50,000 fatalities related to chemical exposures in the American workplace.
• A visitor of an apartment is attacked by the owner’s dog, despite the owner knowing their animal has a history of aggression and violence. Every year, around 337,000 people in the United States go to the emergency room because of a dog attack.
• A heavy piece of plumbing falling on the head of a visitor at a retail store, even when the owner of the store knew about the faulty piping

These, and many more scenarios, can allow a victim to pursue a legal case against the party responsible for their damages.

What to Do After Experiencing a Premises Incident

After experiencing an incident on a premises, there are several important steps to take to preserve your health and future legal case. Be sure to:

1. Call 911 to report the incident and seek medical attention, even if you feel fine physically. It is important to have your physical state documented officially if you want to pursue a legal claim against the responsible party. Certain injuries, like concussions, take longer to present symptoms, and while you may feel fine in the moment, you may realize you are injured later on.
2. Collect the contact and/or insurance information of the party responsible for your injuries. This information can vary depending on the type of incident you experienced. For example, if you experienced a slip and fall injury at a grocery store, you will want to get the contact information of the store’s owner.
3. Collect the contact information of anyone who witnessed the incident happen. Your lawyer will be able to follow up with them later on to get their official testimony. This testimony needs to be collected as quickly as possible, as memories of incidents tend to fade quickly.
4. Take extensive photos and videos. You can benefit from photographic evidence of your visible injuries, as well as any damage to your personal belongings. Getting photos and videos of the site of the incident is key to providing clarity to the court in the future about the incident. During this time, be sure to avoid apologizing or admitting faults to anyone. While you may have good intentions to do so, it will only hurt your chances of success in your future legal case.
5. Hire a Connecticut premises liability attorney to help you start your legal claim and file it at the relevant county courthouse.

Deadline for Filing Your Premises Liability Claim in Connecticut

Those injured in a premises accident generally have two years to file their legal claim in Connecticut. This deadline starts either from the date of the accident or the date you realized you were injured, whichever is later.

However, there is a strict three-year final deadline for all personal injury claims. This means that if you didn’t discover your injuries until four years after the accident, you will not be able to pursue a legal claim.

While this timeline may seem long, it is important to file as soon as possible. If you wait, evidence such as witness memories and at the site of the incident, as well as surveillance footage, tends to disappear quickly after an accident.

Working with your lawyer to preserve as much evidence as possible as early as possible is key to increasing your chances of success.

Evidence to Collect for Your Premises Liability Case in Connecticut

In Connecticut, victims of premises liability cases who want to pursue a legal claim need to prove four things during their case:

1. That the responsible party had a legal duty of care to act responsibly towards you
2. That the responsible party reached their duty of care
3. That the failure to uphold the duty directly caused your injuries
4. That your injuries caused real damages in your life, either financial or emotional

It is not enough to only speculate on these four things. You will need extensive evidence to prove your side of the story. Your lawyer can help in gathering:

• Testimony from professionals giving their opinion about what caused the incident to happen
• Testimony from those who witnessed the incident happen
• Documentation about your financial losses, such as your medical bills and lost income
• Documentation about your emotional losses, such as a journal detailing your mental state and notes from a therapist
• Footage of the incident from nearby surveillance cameras
• The photos and videos taken at the time of the incident
• Copies of the initial incident report
• Transcripts of your 911 call
• A written, detailed timeline of events and your resulting injuries and losses
• Any other evidence that can offer clarity to the court about what happened

Types of Damages That Can Be Requested in Your Connecticut Personal Injury Claim

During your case, your lawyer will be able to determine the maximum amount of compensation that can be requested in your specific situation. This amount is calculated based on your emotional and financial losses. Victims can recover two main types of damages in their legal claim. Economic damages help victims recover damages for:

• Their medical bills, including medical supplies, surgeries, medications, mental health therapy, mobility aid devices, and physical therapy
• Any lost income due to missing work from injuries
• Damage to personal belongings, such as clothing or a cell phone

Non-economic damages are trickier to calculate, as they are based on your non-financial losses. Victims can request these damages to recover compensation for their:

• Disfigurement and disability
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering

Punitive Damages in a Premises Liability Case

In specific situations, victims may be eligible to request punitive damages from the responsible party. Your lawyer can help determine if punitive damages can be requested in your unique situation.

These damages may be filed on top of economic and non-economic damages, which were designed to further punish the wrongdoer and deter any similar behavior from happening in the future.

Courts award these damages when the responsible party acted with extreme negligence or malice. For example, if a hotel owner knowingly left a broken hand railing in place despite having several prior visitors experience injuries from it, they may have to pay punitive damages.

Punitive damages in Connecticut generally help cover a victim’s litigation and lawyer fees.

Wrongful Death Claims From Premises Accidents

Sometimes, in severe cases of negligence, a victim may pass away from their injuries. When this happens, the personal representative of their estate may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the responsible party. This includes pursuing compensation for the following:

• Medical bills of the deceased before they passed away
• Pain and suffering
• Funeral costs

This claim must be filed within two years of the victim’s passing, and no more than five years after the date of the incident that caused the victim’s death.

A loss of consortium claim may be filed by the deceased’s spouse. This allows them to open a legal claim against the responsible party to pursue compensation for the loss of companionship, support, and love of their partner. This claim must be filed jointly with the wrongful death claim.

The Benefits of Mediation in a Premises Liability Case

Mediation allows victims to pursue their personal injury claim without needing to go through the full trial process. This is a common alternative to court, saving you time and money.

During mediation sessions, a professional neutral mediator helps facilitate healthy communication between the parties involved in the case and their legal teams. Mediators don’t make any legal decisions, but help both sides feel heard.

If you and the other party are able to agree on an outcome for the case, you will be able to sign a written statement to submit to the court for final approval. If you cannot come to an agreement, the case will proceed to court.

Having your Connecticut mediation lawyer present is key during mediation, as they can provide an additional barrier of legal protection.

How Connecticut Courts Determine Fault in Personal Injury Cases

During your court case, the judge will assign everyone involved in the incident a percentage of fault. This helps them determine how much compensation will be awarded to you and who will pay it.

Oftentimes, there are multiple responsible parties involved in a premises liability case. The final settlement awarded to you will be split between them, based on their percentage of fault.

You may also be assigned your own percentage of fault. If you are found to be more than 50% at fault for the incident, you will be barred from pursuing compensation. This can be difficult for victims, as even small mistakes can contribute to accidents happening.

Your lawyer can help you understand what to expect in your own case. For example:

• If you were provoking someone’s dog in their front yard and were bitten because of it, you may be assigned 40% of fault for the incident.
• If the dog was able to slip out of their collar, the manufacturer of the faulty collar may be assigned 20% at fault.
• If the owner knew their dog had shown previous aggression and failed to take proper safety measures, they may be assigned 40% of the fault.
• If you were awarded $100,000, it would be reduced by 40%, making your final settlement amount $60,000. This amount would be split between the collar manufacturer and the owner of the dog/property where the incident occurred, based on their individual percentage of fault.

Work With Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers in Connecticut

Reach out to the team at Suisman Shapiro today to learn how our knowledgeable attorneys can assist you in your personal injury case. You deserve to have a skilled professional helping you throughout the entirety of legal proceedings so you can recover the compensation you are entitled to.

While compensation cannot change what happened to you, it can help ease your present and future financial burdens. We offer free consultations at our office in New London and are proud to serve residents of New London County, Windham County, and Middlesex County.

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