If you’re injured on someone else’s property, a premises liability attorney can help you collect money damages from the property owner’s insurance company. Everyone recognizes that accidents happen, but if an accident happens due to the property owner’s negligence, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your injury. You have a right to sue the landowner for damages related to the accident. You should not be liable for medical bills, lost wages or reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, or permanent disability if your injury is no fault of your own.
Slip, trip, and fall accidents can occur year-round. Though such accidents are often associated with winter conditions—snowstorms, freezing rain, icy steps, or walkways—summer is also a time when people are hurt or injured on someone else’s property. However, be aware that property conditions resulting in premises liability cases during the summertime differ from other seasons.
Getting an Injury on Other People’s Property During Summer Months
Some of the leading causes include the following:
Swimming Pools
Public or private swimming pools can be very busy during the hot days of summer. Many communities have summer camp programs for children, including daily visits to the town pool. Friends may get together poolside at a backyard BBQ. The busier a pool gets, the greater the risk of a slip and fall accident. All pools should be properly maintained and supervised at all times to help prevent injury.
Second Homes
Sooner or later, if you live or visit Maine, you will head “uptah” camp for a spell. Camps are a way of life for Mainers. They are found on lakes, ponds, and shorelines throughout the state and come in all shapes and sizes—from second homes to rustic off-grid cottages. As a summer getaway, camps are often a place for friends and family to gather or a place to rent out to vacationers. Upkeep of camp properties can sometimes be challenging—planking on steps, decks, and docks can be subjected to rot, branches can fall from trees onto paths, or roots can spurt out across walkways. These property conditions can lead to a trip and fall accident or injury.
Concerts, Festivals, Fairs
Concerts and festivals during the summer can be a fun experience—and also draw exceptionally diverse groups of people. Depending on the band, concertgoers can sometimes get too rowdy, and without proper crowd control, people can get hurt. This can happen if the venue staff is poorly trained, unqualified, the event is understaffed, or there is inadequate security for the concert type. Slip and fall accidents can result if the site is poorly maintained.
State and county fairs are part and parcel of the summer experience in Maine. Scattered throughout the state, beginning in late July and running through early October, people flood midways filled with amusements and thrill rides, gather round tracks to watch harness racing, crowd exhibition halls, or view agricultural exhibits and demonstrations. Slip and fall and other types of injuries are a common occurrence at these events because, despite best intentions, there are always a few buildings and structures on fairgrounds that are older and in need of repair, some rides that are barely operable or jury-rigged, and makeshift midways that present any number of hazards to visitors.
Animal Bites
Summer months are typically associated with outdoor activities, with people and their pets hanging outside on the porch or in the park. Unfortunately, summertime is also when more dog bites happen than any other time. Homeowners who have dogs or allow dogs on their premises must remain vigilant of their pet or be held liable if it bites a visitor and causes injuries.
What Does Duty of Care Mean?
Regarding premises liability in Maine, landowners have a “duty of care,” an obligation by law, to maintain their property to protect other family members, friends, guests, or visitors who enter the property from unreasonable risk of harm. Suppose you are hurt this summer on someone else’s property. In that case, the Maine premises liability attorneys at Hardy, Wolf & Downing can provide the legal assistance you need to ensure you are awarded the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Contact Hardy, Wolf & Downing for a free consultation and assessment of your case, and let us help you move forward with your life.