Wichita Premises Liability Attorney

Injuries of all types happen every day in any number of ways, and when accidents occur on someone else’s property, the path to compensation can be complicated.

Whether you’re walking your dog at the park or having lunch with your family at a local restaurant, if you suffer an injury due to a hazard on property owned by someone else, you have legal recourse available.

At Prochaska, Howell & Prochaska LLC, we represent individuals like you who have been harmed by unsafe conditions resulting from property owners’ negligence. A dedicated Wichita premises liability lawyer is ready to talk to you about your case and hold those responsible for your injuries accountable.

Common Causes and Injuries

Premises injuries can occur in various ways during normal daily activities. Our office has a history of helping clients with a wide range of premises liability claims, such as:

• Slip and fall accidents: Data from the National Safety Council (NSC) shows that slip, trip, and fall accidents caused 33% of all nonfatal injuries in the United States in 2021. These can occur due to broken steps, damaged handrails, wet floors, uneven surfaces, and other hazards.
• Negligent security: Typically applicable to commercial properties, negligent security may lead to situations such as an assault on a bar patron where a security guard should have been present.
• Dog bites or animal attacks: All animal owners have a duty of care to keep their pets contained or properly restrained to prevent animal attacks, especially if their dog has a history of aggressive tendencies.
• Toxic exposure: Hazardous chemicals, mold, lead, or other harmful substances that should not be exposed to any visitors to the property.
• Burn injuries: Fires, certain chemicals, or hot plates in restaurants are some causes of these injuries.
• Attractive nuisance injuries: Property owners have a duty to properly secure what is considered an attractive nuisance, something that might attract children onto a property, such as swimming pools or playground equipment.

These accidents can cause a variety of injuries, some minor, but some may lead to serious health issues or even the death of the injured person. Most often, injuries sustained in premises liability cases are:

• Bruises and sprains
• Broken or fractured bones
• Spinal injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Crush injuries
• Loss of limbs
• Wrongful death

Proving Negligence in Premises Injury Cases

When any of the aforementioned incidents and injuries occur on another person’s property, negligence has to be proven before the plaintiff can receive compensation for damages. In these types of personal injury cases, the following four elements of negligence must be present:

• The at-fault party owed a duty of care to the plaintiff
• The at-fault party breached that duty
• That breach of duty resulted in injuries
• Those injuries resulted in monetary damages

If all four of these can be proven, then the at-fault party may owe you compensation due to negligence.

Even if your case becomes complicated, your attorney will ensure all the necessary evidence, such as eyewitness statements and photographs of the scene of the accident, is collected and provided to help in the determination of negligence.

Who Can Be Held Responsible?

Although you may think that if you’re hurt on someone else’s property, the property owner is the one who will be held responsible, that’s not always the case. Depending on the location where the incident occurred, the responsible party may be the property owner, the property manager, a government entity, a tenant, or another individual.

Liability and your right to pursue legal action are also determined by what type of visitor you were at the time your injury occurred and what percentage of fault you may have had in the incident.

Visitor Type Matters

It’s important to know what type of visitor you were at the time of the accident because, by state law, property owners owe different levels of care to different types of visitors. Those visitor types are:

• Invitees are individuals who are invited to a property for the benefit of the property owner, such as customers in a store or concertgoers. Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees and must maintain safe premises, inspecting for potential hazards and correcting or warning about those hazards to prevent injury.
• Licensees are individuals who are on a property with the owner’s consent but for their own purposes, such as guests of a tenant in a home. Property owners still owe a duty of care to licensees. However, they are not required to regularly inspect for hazards, but they are required to still warn about known hazards.
• Trespassers are individuals who enter a property without permission. Property owners owe the least duty of care to trespassers and are only required to prevent intentional harm to these individuals, such as setting a trap specifically to hurt them.

Kansas Modified Comparative Negligence Law

Once you and your Wichita premises liability lawyer have determined which visitor type best applies to you, the next step is understanding how you may be held partially at fault for your injury. For example, if you were injured on someone else’s property, but you ignored a warning sign right before your injury occurred, this could be considered comparative negligence.

In cases where comparative negligence is proven, the amount of compensation you may be awarded will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. That means if you, as the plaintiff, were found to be 25% at fault, you would only receive 75% of the compensation you may have otherwise collected.

What to Do After a Premises Accident

An accident on someone else’s property can leave you confused and not knowing what to do. But what happens next can make all the difference. Here’s how to protect yourself:

• Even if you feel fine, injuries like concussions or internal damage may not be obvious right away. You need a medical examination. A doctor’s report also strengthens your case.
• You will want to notify the property owner, manager, or security personnel. Request a written incident report and retain a copy.
• Make sure to take clear photos and videos of the hazard that caused your injury, your physical injuries, and anything else that might support your claim.
• Bystanders can provide testimony for your claim. You will want to get their names and contact information.
• During this time, keep everything related to the incident. You will want to hold onto medical bills, receipts, emails, and any other documentation.

And this might be the most important step: call an attorney before speaking to the insurance companies. These insurers may try to minimize your claim. You will want to have a skilled lawyer handle all communications.

At Prochaska, Howell & Prochaska LLC, we fight to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Why You Should Hire a Wichita Premises Liability Lawyer

Our skilled lawyers at Prochaska, Howell & Prochaska LLC handle cases like yours every day. We understand the legal complexities of premises liability cases, and we fight for compensation for:

• Medical expenses
• Loss of work
• Loss of quality of life
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disability
• Disfigurement
• Property damage
• Emotional distress
• And much more

As you can see, when accidents occur on another person’s property, injuries and damages can be extensive, and pursuing legal action may end up being quite complicated. This is why it’s essential to the success of your case that you contact our office for your free consultation with a Wichita premises liability lawyer as soon as possible.

Don’t wait another day. Let us help you get the compensation you deserve for the injuries you’ve suffered.