One of the most frequent misconceptions about the law arises when a person is injured on someone else's property. Most people believe the property owner is automatically responsible for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc. This belief is especially strong when the property involved is a store or some other public building. This is not the law in Virginia, and many other states as well.

A property owner is only responsible if 1) the owner (or one of their employees) created or caused the dangerous condition or 2) the dangerous condition existed for so long a period of time that the owner should have discovered and fixed the problem (or have given a conspicuous warning that there was a dangerous condition).

To further complicate matters, the owner that is otherwise at fault can also escape responsibility if the dangerous condition should have been obvious to the injured person and therefore avoided.

Bottom line - a property owner is not necessarily liable for your injuries just because you were hurt on his or her property!

As you can readily see premises liability law is complicated and fraught with peril for the injured person not represented by a lawyer. Be aware that many store managers receive training to gather information and statements from the injured person to assist in defeating their claim.

If you've been injured on someone else's property it is very important that you talk to Ward as soon as possible and before giving a statement to or signing a medical release for the premises owner. As with most personal injury-type claims there is no charge for an initial consultation and no legal fee unless there is a recovery.

Successful premises liability cases are tough to win. You need a tough lawyer to plead your case.

Ward Armstrong...a lawyer fighting for you!