What Is the Difference Between Premises Liability and General Negligence?

If you have been injured on someone else’s property, you may have heard terms like premises liability and negligence—but what do they actually mean, and how do they apply to your situation? These legal concepts are closely related, yet they differ in important ways that can affect how your case is handled and what you need to prove to recover compensation in your New Haven premises liability claim. 

What Is General Negligence?

Negligence serves as the foundation for nearly all personal injury cases. At its core, negligence occurs when someone fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in injury or property damage to another person. 

To succeed in a negligence claim, you typically need to establish four key elements:

• First, the defendant owed you a duty of care. 
• Second, the defendant breached that duty. 
• Third, the breach directly caused an accident. 
• Fourth, you suffered damages as a direct result.

The duty of care differs based on the relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. Drivers, for instance, owe a duty to drive safely and follow traffic laws. Similarly, medical professionals owe their patients a duty to provide treatment that meets accepted standards of care in their field.

What Is Premises Liability?

Premises liability specifically addresses injuries that result from dangerous conditions on someone’s property. These claims center on three essential elements: 

• A hazardous condition existed on the property.
• The property owner knew or reasonably should have known about the condition but failed to address it.
• You were injured because of that hazard.

Any condition that creates an unreasonable risk of harm to visitors could potentially form the basis of a premises liability claim. Common examples include wet or slippery floors without proper warning signs, broken or uneven stairs and walkways, poor lighting in parking lots or stairwells, loose handrails or missing guardrails, and merchandise left in store aisles. 

How Does Premises Liability Differ from Negligence?

Premises liability is a specific type of negligence claim. The key difference lies in how the negligence occurs. Rather than the property owner acting negligently toward you directly, they were negligent in failing to maintain safe conditions on their property.

Property owners owe different levels of care depending on who enters their property:

• Invitees are owed the highest duty of care. These are people who enter the property for business purposes, such as customers shopping at a retail store or clients visiting an office. Property owners must regularly inspect their premises, promptly fix known hazards, and warn invitees of any dangers they discover.
• Licensees receive a moderate level of protection. These visitors enter for social purposes or reasons unrelated to business, such as dinner guests or neighbors stopping by. Property owners must warn licensees of known hazards that aren’t obvious, but they don’t need to actively inspect for dangers.
• Trespassers are generally owed no duty of care. These people enter the property without permission. However, property owners typically cannot create intentional hazards designed to injure trespassers.

Get Help with Your New Haven Premises Liability Case

Connecticut law imposes certain duties on property owners, and successfully pursuing a premises liability claim requires demonstrating that these duties were breached in a way that caused your injuries.

A New Haven premises liability attorney can help you identify the proper legal framework for your case and gather the evidence needed to hold negligent property owners accountable. Schedule a free consultation today to discuss your situation and start building your claim.