Premises Liability Lawyers

With world-renowned attractions like the Indianapolis 500 and an economy that rivals any in the Midwest, Indiana is clearly a state on the move – but that momentum can grind to a halt when a hidden danger causes a serious accident.

If you have been injured on somebody else’s property in Indiana, you may be eligible to receive compensation through a premises liability claim. To increase your chances of a favorable outcome, get in touch with the Indiana premises liability attorneys at Hensley Legal Group, who have been defending the rights of the average Hoosier for more than a quarter century.

Call (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or complete our contact form to schedule a free case review with a dedicated Indiana premises liability lawyer.

Do You Have a Premises Liability Case?

Premises liability is an area of personal injury litigation focused on property-related claims. Like any personal injury matter, a premises liability case needs to include both negligence and damages.

Negligence is the failure to meet a duty to avoid inflicting harm, known as damages. If a plaintiff incurs physical damages because of a defendant’s negligence, that plaintiff may be able to recover monetary damages from the defendant.

A premises liability case alleges that damages were sustained because of hazards on the defendant’s property. For the case to be viable, a plaintiff needs to prove three separate elements:

The defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff to exercise reasonable care to maintain safe conditions on a property.
The defendant breached this duty by not taking care to keep the property reasonably safe.
The defendant’s breach directly caused injury to the plaintiff.

It can be harder to establish all three of these elements in a property-based claim than in a claim based on an event with a more obvious connection between a defendant’s conduct and a plaintiff’s damages, such as a car accident.

Premises liability plaintiffs typically prevail when they are able to show that a defendant allowed an injury to occur by neglecting to:

Inspect the premises for unsafe conditions;
Remedy unsafe conditions that are known; or
Alert the plaintiff about known unsafe conditions.

Hensley’s Indiana premises liability attorneys have extensive experience uncovering breaches of duty on the part of property owners.

Were You Owed a Duty of Care?

For your premises liability claim to succeed, you will need to prove that a property owner breached a duty of care owed to you. But were you actually owed a duty of care? And what did that duty entail?

The answer will largely depend on your reasons for being on the premises. Under Indiana law, all visitors to a property are classified as invitees, licensees, or trespassers, each of whom merit different duties of care.

Invitees – A visitor who is invited onto a property for the financial benefit of the owner is an invitee. Shoppers in a grocery store or diners in a restaurant would be classic invitees.

Invitees are owed the greatest duty of care by Indiana property owners, who need to take active steps to keep properties safe for them. Owners may be required to inspect their premises for hazards and either fix them or warn invitees about them.

Licensees – A visitor who is allowed to enter a property but does not provide a benefit to the owner would be considered a licensee. Licensees might include guests at a housewarming party or family members dropping by for a visit.

Indiana property owners owe a lesser duty of care to licensees. Owners need to avoid willfully harming licensees and inform them of any defective conditions, but they are not required to look for or repair such conditions for the sake of licensees.

Trespassers – Anyone who is on an Indiana property without permission is considered a trespasser. A wide range of individuals could qualify as trespassers, from a neighbor taking a shortcut through a yard to a burglar trying to pry open a window. Trespassers are owed the least duty of care in Indiana, though property owners may have some limited obligations. When they are aware of trespassers, owners must not deliberately harm them, but they do not have a duty to let trespassers know about any defects. This minimum duty of care to trespassers may not apply when the trespassers are children. A child is not expected to understand the risks of being on someone else’s property, particularly with regard to an “attractive nuisance,” which is a hazard that may be uniquely appealing to minors, such as an unfenced pool. Property owners who know about attractive nuisances and expect children to trespass and suffer harm because of them but still do nothing about them “may be subject to liability for physical injury or death to a child trespasser.”

As you can see, what you were doing on a property in Indiana prior to an accident will heavily influence your ability to garner funds for it. Our Indiana premises liability lawyers can determine whether the facts leading up to your injury justify a claim.

Challenges in Indiana Premises Liability Claims

Even if you can confirm that an Indiana property owner breached a duty of care, you may face significant challenges to your premises liability claim, including disputes over liability and statutory requirements.

Very often, a property owner will argue that the plaintiff is either partially or totally responsible for the accident causing injury. The degree of blame that can be assigned to a plaintiff may curb the level of recovery available or even eliminate it altogether.

According to Title 34, Section 31, Chapter 2 of the Indiana Code, a personal injury claimant “is barred from recovery if the claimant’s contributory fault is greater than the fault of all persons whose fault proximately contributed to the claimant’s damages.” In plain English, if your share of fault for your accident is not more than 50 percent, you may be eligible to pursue a claim, but any damages awarded would be reduced by an amount equal to the percentage of your liability. However, if you are found to be more than 50 percent at fault, you would receive nothing.

Moreover, you have a limited period in which to act, known as the Statute of Limitations. The Statute is two years for most premises liability claims in Indiana, though it can be shorter for accidents on public property, with additional restrictions applying under Indiana’s Tort Claims Act.

A plaintiff who is contemplating a case against a municipal or state body first needs to file a Notice of Tort Claim with the appropriate agency within 270 days of the date of loss (or 180 days in some claims against “political subdivisions”). Failure to meet these deadlines and requirements could prohibit you from being fully and fairly compensated for your injuries.

The detail-oriented Indiana premises liability attorneys at our firm will break through the regulatory obstacles blocking your path to justice.

Common Indiana Premises Liability Cases

A number of property conditions could provide grounds for an Indiana premises liability case, including:

Slip-and-fall hazards – Falling is the leading source of accidental injury nationwide, resulting in about 8 million emergency room visits annually. Property owners may be held liable for elements that cause plaintiffs to fall, such as overly slick surfaces, loose floorboards, damaged or uneven stairs, poor lighting, and crumbling walkways.
Inadequate security – Claims may be brought when assaults occur because of inadequate security in likely sites of criminal activity, such as parking lots, where nearly 1,400 crimes are committed across the country each day.
Aggressive dogs – Indiana’s high rate of dog ownership comes with a comparably high rate of dog bite claims. Property owners may be civilly liable when they do not control or warn about aggressive dogs on their premises.

No matter how you were hurt, Hensley’s Indiana premises liability lawyers will advise you of the best course of action to take.

What Our Premises Liability Attorneys Can Do for You

A major accident can turn your world upside down, leaving you overwhelmed by mounting medical bills while possibly stopping you from going to work. Under these circumstances, it can become tough to make ends meet, much less obtain the resources necessary to stave off disaster.

You need attorneys with the compassion to support you through your struggles and the skills to help you overcome them. You need the Indiana premises liability attorneys at Hensley Legal Group. Since 1998, we have devoted our practice to tireless advocacy for the innocent victims of negligence.

If you decide to retain our firm, we will launch a comprehensive investigation into the causes of your accident and everyone who may be culpable for it within the time allotted by law. Our Indiana premises liability lawyers will also act swiftly to prevent any negligent conditions from being repaired before they can be documented.

Once we have built the strongest case possible against the at-fault parties, will work to negotiate a settlement that reflects the entirety of your losses, including:

Medical expenses
Lost income
Pain and suffering
Mental and emotional trauma
Diminished quality of life
Punitive damages (if applicable)

And unlike many of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, set foot inside a courtroom, we are not afraid to go to trial if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your claim.

No two cases are exactly alike, but we will always strive to maximize the value of yours.

What Will It Cost to Hire Hensley Legal Group?

Spending more money may be the last thing you can afford to do at this moment. Fortunately, our firm works on a contingency basis, so you will not have to pay us anything until our Indiana premises liability attorneys win your case.

Hensley is willing to assume all the risks involved in getting you and your family back on solid ground again.

Talk to an Indiana Premises Liability Lawyer Now

Hensley Legal Group has been fighting for the everyday people of Indiana for over 25 years. If you have been harmed by someone else’s recklessness, talk to an Indiana premises liability lawyer now to explore your legal options.

You can arrange a no-cost consultation with one of our accomplished Indiana premises liability attorneys by calling (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or completing our contact form.