These are just a few of the conditions that could be considered dangerous. Many others exist. Obviously, a property owner does not necessarily know the exact minute a hazardous condition will arise (for example, the owner cannot anticipate that the escalator will break at noon), nor can an owner always fix something immediately. 

However, an owner is required to promptly mitigate the potential danger by blocking off an area, posting warning signs, setting up orange cones, or otherwise cordoning off an area to alert patrons to stay away. In our example above, if the escalator breaks and becomes dangerous, an owner cannot leave it that way for days unattended and allow unsuspecting shoppers to get hurt.

If you or a loved one has been injured or died while on a property that was unsafe, you should call our Indiana premises liability lawyers to find out about your legal rights.  You may be entitled to financial compensation.  Businesses and other venues have a responsibility to create a safe environment, and it can be catastrophic when property owners are negligent.

How Property Owners Try to Avoid Blame, and How We Fight Back

The argument that the hazard was “open and obvious” is often a distraction from a property owner’s own negligence, and a tactic used to pass blame to the injured individual. We validate your experience and counteract this tactic with evidence like incident reports, surveillance footage, maintenance records, and witness statements. Stephenson Rife is prepared when property owners use this narrative and we use our extensive investigative materials to prove our point.

Security or surveillance footage is often critical in these cases. You’d be surprised how much even a grainy security video or a messy maintenance log can completely flip a case in favor of the injured individual and against the negligent property owner. It’s often the case that when people use the “open and obvious” narrative, they’re trying to hide or simply ignore an issue that they’ve known about for a long time and never bothered to address.

If a friend said to you, “I don’t need a lawyer. I just fell at a store,” you could let them know that the company may have been aware of the hazard, and it wasn’t as “open and obvious” as they’re suggesting. They’ll probably claim the person was being careless or caused their own fall. These are all tactics to discredit and exploit the injured person. Surveillance footage could even be shortened to show only the fall itself, which is a tactic to conceal how long the hazard existed.

When preparing for a trial against a big property owner or an insurance company, a lot could be going through people’s minds. It can be a daunting process, but Stephenson Rife has decades of experience handling tough investigations for premises liability cases.

Common Types of Premises Liability Accidents in Indianapolis

There are several ways in which a person can be injured on a premises. Whether it’s a concussion or a life-threatening injury, each accident must be taken seriously, and a victim should seek medical attention right away. Some types of accidents include the following.

Key Terms in an Indiana Premises Liability Claim

Premises liability lawyers will tell you that a property owner’s standard of care generally depends on the status of the individual entering the property/land. There are three types: invitees, licensees, and trespassers.

• Invitees – An invitee is a person who enters a property for the financial benefit of the property owner (for example, a shopper at a store), a person who enters a property that is typically open to the public at large (for example, a museum), or who is an invited social guest of the property owner. To invitees, an owner has the duty of reasonable care in keeping the premises maintained and safe, and the owner must identify and repair dangerous conditions and post warnings about dangers.
• Licensees – A licensee is any person who has the property owner’s express or implied permission to enter the property and is entering the property for their own purposes. Such people could be a salesman, a photographer, or a pharmaceutical representative at a doctor’s office. The owner is required to warn a licensee of any dangerous conditions that the owner knows about and that the licensee is unaware of.
• Trespassers – A trespasser is a person who is not authorized to enter or remain on property that belongs to someone else. The property owner owes no duty to trespassers except to refrain from willfully harming them or increasing the likelihood that they will be harmed. If the trespasser is a child, the situation is slightly different because children are not expected to fully understand dangers. Children who trespass are covered by the attractive nuisance doctrine.

Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability Cases in Indiana

The statute of limitations on premises liability cases, just like all personal injury cases, is two years from the date the injury occurred.  Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4 says: “An action for: (1) injury to person or character; [or for] (2) injury to personal property…must be commenced within two (2) years after the cause of action accrues.”  So if you or a loved one was injured, take action and call an Indianapolis premises liability attorney right away.  If you wait, you may miss your opportunity and will have no recourse.

Property owners will often try to exploit cases where the injury is long-term but not immediately obvious. Since you have two years from the date of injury to file a claim, you’ll want to take action as soon as an injury becomes apparent. Any delay is something property owners and their insurers will attempt to use against you.

Proving Negligence in a Premises Liability Case

To win a premises liability claim, your lawyer must prove four specific things:

• Duty – The owner has a legal obligation to keep the premises safe for you
• Breach – The owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and failed to fix it or warn you
• Causation – That specific dangerous condition is what directly caused your injury
• Damages – You suffered actual losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering

Why Hire Our Greater Indianapolis Premises Liability Law Firm

No matter what legal challenge you are faced with, you can be confident that our Indianapolis premises liability lawyers will settle for nothing less than results that are in your best interest. At the law firm of Stephenson Rife, we have been meeting the needs of people throughout Indiana since 1976.

Our experience means that we have taken on a wide range of challenges, from business law disputes to personal injury cases and beyond. We are confident that we can meet your needs and, after you discuss your case with us, we believe you will be, too.

High hourly rates are common at large law firms, but not at ours. We are able to provide cost-effective legal services. We don’t have to pay rent in a downtown office building. We don’t have a bureaucracy made up of layers of partners and associates.

We keep things simple. We take your case, put a team of experienced lawyers on it and take care of it. No excess. No fluff. Just results.

Frequently Asked Questions About Indiana Premises Liability Claims

How do premises liability cases work in Indianapolis?

In Indianapolis, premises liability cases are built on the principle that property owners have a duty of care to keep their property safe for others. If you’re injured because of an owner’s negligence, you have the right to seek compensation, but the process is often more rigorous than people expect.

Your claim depends in part on your status on the property. Invitees – people welcomed onto the property for business or public purposes – are owed the highest duty of care, and owners must actively inspect and maintain the premises for them.

Licensees, like social guests visiting a home, must be warned of known non-obvious hazards; if the owner fails to warn you and you’re injured, they can be held liable. Trespassers are generally owed only the duty to avoid willful or wanton injury.

What should I look for when hiring a premises liability lawyer?

Look for a lawyer with a proven track record in premises liability cases – ideally one who can point to past results in cases similar to yours. A strong premises liability lawyer should have a clear plan to preserve time-sensitive evidence immediately, before it goes missing or becomes unusable.

Trial experience in Indiana is also important. Ask about their trial history and success rate before you hire anyone. Make sure communication is direct and transparent: Who will be handling your case day-to-day? Ask about fees up front so there are no surprises.

And finally, local knowledge of Indiana courts and premises liability law matters – you want an attorney who has been doing this work in Indiana for a long time.

How much does it cost to hire a premises accident attorney?

Our premises liability law firm works on a contingency-fee basis, which means you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Your initial consultation with our Indianapolis premises lawyer team is always free. For more information on how contingency fees work and what to expect, see our settlements FAQs.

What if I was partially at fault for my premises accident?

Indiana follows a system where your compensation is tied to your percentage of responsibility, and the threshold is 50%. You can recover damages as long as you’re 50% or less at fault. If the jury finds you were 51% or more responsible for the accident, you’re legally barred from recovering any money at all. But if you’re found, for example, to be 20% at fault, your total settlement or verdict will simply be reduced by 20% – a $100,000 award would become $80,000. That 51% rule is important to understand.