Will My Loved One Have To Pay for My Injuries on Their Property?
You’re out of town visiting family. The kids are playing while the adults enjoy each other’s company. The sound of loud cries takes everyone out of the moment and back to reality. Your child has been hurt on the property of a loved one—what do you do? Those that are injured at a family or friend’s house face extra challenges when it comes to filing a personal injury claim. While it is correct to pursue compensation for damages related to negligence, the matter gets more complicated when dealing with family or friends. Thankfully, personal injury claims are disputes that do not get settled between individuals, but rather in courts and between insurance providers. As a result, when you file a personal injury claim, you need to remember that you are filing against their homeowner’s insurance—and not the loved one. Filing a claim is necessary and the only way to receive damages for medical bills and lost time from work. Learn more about premises liability and how it applies to situations where the accident involves family members or close friends.Personal Injuries Involving Loved Ones
There are hundreds of thousands of personal injury claims filed each year in the United States, most of which involve at least two parties that may have little to no association with each other prior to the lawsuit. On the other hand, injuries that occur at the residence of a friend or family member are more complicated because the victim may feel guilty asking the property owner for money related to the injuries. For this reason, the court system established premises liability as a method for settling personal injury disputes, including those where both parties know each other well. Victims who get injured on a loved one’s property usually struggle over the correct action to take. They do not want to ask for money from a friend yet are suffering all the same through pain and expensive medical bills. In these situations, the best avenue to avoid ruining a relationship is to file a personal injury claim against their homeowner’s insurance. It enables you to continue and pursue damages for your injuries while ideally not ruining a relationship. While a loved one may not understand why you need to file a personal injury claim, in the vast majority of premises liability cases, the predicament will not affect the loved one’s financial situation that much. Instead, most of the burden will fall on the homeowner’s insurance provider.Premises Liability—Protecting Both Parties
Homeowners need insurance on their property for many reasons, including personal injury that may occur on the property. Consequently, most property owners carry some form of homeowner’s insurance as a precaution. Homeowner’s insurance is designed to cover several different dilemmas. It can cover premises liability claims where the injury was caused by some type of unsafe or defective condition on private property. Premises liability lawsuits are like other personal injury claims where the injured party must prove fault and negligence. Fittingly, the injured person must prove that the property owner was negligent with respect to the ownership or maintenance of the property. A good example of this would be faulty playground equipment on a private residence. It is crucial to understand that just because you were injured on someone’s property, it does not automatically qualify you for damages related to medical costs. First, you must prove that the property owner was negligent, and this contributed to the injuries.Types of Premises Liability
There are many different types of premises liability. If you were injured on a loved one’s property, one of the following may have occurred because of negligence:- Slip and fall accidents
- Snow and ice incidents
- Inadequate maintenance
- Defective conditions
- Dog bites
- Swimming pool accidents
- Burn incidents