Premises Liability - Charleston, South Carolina

What is premises liability? Premises liability is the legal theory that holds landowners and tenants responsible for injuries or crimes which happen on their property. Premises liability holds landowners, business owners, and hosts responsible if someone were to be injured inside their house, land, or business. This includes everything from slip-and-fall injuries to a crime occurring. Each case is unique, and you and your attorney need to consider all the factors.

If you or someone you love has been injured while present on someone else’s property, you might be entitled to compensation. Under South Carolina law one is entitled to recover three different types of damages. Economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. Economic damages might look like medical bills from injuries. They can also be lost wages (incurred due to recovery time) or the cost of damaged property. Non-economic damages are the damages one can claim due to factors related to pain and suffering and emotional distress. Punitive damages can occur if the person or entity maintaining the property acted recklessly or in a grossly negligent manner.

Premises liability cases can be complex and depending on certain factors can have long timelines. Retaining the correct premises liability attorney can make all the difference. Experience in these cases matters. Ashley Cornwell has over 10 years of experience in South Carolina working in all areas of the law including personal injury cases. If you believe you should receive compensation due to another person’s negligent actions contact us today. 

What is Premises Liability law in South Carolina?

When a person (visitor) visits another person’s business, land, or property they can be legally classified as one of three categories. They can be either an invitee, licensee, or trespasser. An owner or tenant has a certain duty of care to each type of guest. An invitee can be thought of as a restaurant guest or shopper at a grocery store. Licensees on the other hand are guests in someone’s place like a partygoer or social guest. Trespassers are on someone’s premises without the consent of the owner or tenant. 

An owner or tenant of a premise is responsible to varying degrees of guaranteeing the safety of an invitee or licensee. An invitee must be warned of any dangerous conditions on the premises. An invitee benefits the property owner financially, so they are afforded the highest level of care and caution. A property owner must use similar but not as stringent care when dealing with licensees. This is because licensees are not directly benefiting them financially. Trespassers are not guaranteed any warnings of dangerous conditions, but they must not be purposefully harmed.