Premises Liability

Business owners and homeowners generally have a duty to protect others from dangerous conditions on their property. These dangerous conditions can be fruit on the floor of a grocery store, an unsafe construction zone, a defective building or sidewalk, inadequate security, or any other condition that poses a risk of injury to someone.

If you have been injured on another's property, it is important to have an Oregon attorney evaluate any personal injury claim you may have against the land owner, manager or landlord. The law provides strict deadlines for bringing personal injury claims. It is critical that you contact an Oregon injury attorney or Oregon accident attorney if you think that you may have a claim. A Portland personal injury attorney at Vangelisti Kocher LLP can provide you a free consultation to discuss your injuries and legal rights with respect to a premises liability claim.

Property owners and managers (including business owners, homeowners and property management) generally have a duty to protect others from dangerous conditions on their property in certain circumstances. An Oregon personal injury lawyer or Oregon personal injury attorney can help you evaluate whether your injuries were the result of a property owner’s failure to protect you from a dangerous condition. Dangerous conditions may occur in many circumstances.

Apartment and Home Rentals. A landlords’ failure to maintain their apartments, apartment complexes, townhomes, condos, home rentals, cabin rentals, vacation rentals, and other property rentals in habitable condition have been known to cause injuries. These injuries can be caused by children falling from windows that do not have working latches or window guards, broken steps, stairs or railings that are missing or in disrepair, broken ladders or rungs, stair rails or balusters that are too wide, cracked sidewalks, faulty electrical outlets, inadequate security or security gates, doors or alarms, children drowning in pools, and fires from poor electrical wiring. Apartment fires, house fires, and apartment duplex fires can result from not having a fire alarm or smoke detector or from a lack of fire alarms and smoke detectors.  Injuries can also be caused from holes on the property, a hole in the driveway or a hole in the sidewalk or grass, and dangerous power lines. 

Hotels and Motels. Hotel/motel owners and managers have been known to cause injury by having dimly or poorly lighted walkways, parking lots, and stairs. Hot water temperatures that have been maintained at scalding temperatures have also been known to cause injury to hotel guests. Hotel guests have fallen down hotel stairs and have fallen on slippery bathroom floors. Hotel guests have also been known to drown while swimming in pools or public or private beaches.

Restaurants and Bars. At restaurants and bars, customers can fall if the establishment fails to keep floors, stairs and walkways free from spills. Premises liability actions have been brought against establishments that fail to eject customers who pose a danger (often from intoxication) to other patrons. Additionally, restaurants and bars that serve liquor or alcohol to visibly intoxicated persons can be held liable if the intoxicated person then injures another person. These injuries usually occur when a drunk driver hits someone. The restaurant or bar may be held liable in certain circumstances. If you have been hit by a drunk driver, contact an Oregon personal injury lawyer or personal injury attorney as very strict deadlines apply to your claim.

Grocery Stores, Shopping Malls and Department Stores. The negligence of employees at grocery stores or supermarkets can cause many dangerous conditions and injuries: falls from water, fruit, produce or other substances on the floor or sidewalk; hand trucks, boxes or other items obstructing isles; objects such as chairs, mirrors, other merchandise falling from racks; and falls from ice, curbs or a hole in the parking lot or parking garage, particularly if they have inadequate lighting or have poor lighting. Elevators and automatic glass doors have also been known to cause injuries to customers. Injuries have been known to occur even in major stores such as Albertsons, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Safeway Stores, Inc., and Fred Meyer.

Sometimes injuries are caused by inadequate security of parking lots, parking garages, or sidewalk areas in and around banks and apartments.

Workplace and Construction Sites. Places of employment or where subcontractors come to work can pose particular risks of injury if the employer, owner, manager, or contractor fails to exercise reasonable care. Employees or workers have been know to suffer injuries and falls from: unsafe construction sites because materials are not secure, slippery surfaces, unsecure or unsafe structures or conditions (loose plywood, skylights, roofs, stairs, scaffolding, landing, crane, railings, doors, power poles, metal poles, trenches, pits, unsafe equipment or rigs), exposure to toxic chemicals (mesothelioma from asbestos), falls and electrocution. In certain circumstances, the workers compensation bar does not apply. In other words, workers can hold liable companies and persons other than their employers who caused the injuries. In this case, it is important to contact an Oregon lawyer or attorney for advice on this special protection in the law for injured workers.

Window falls can occur in the workplace situtation in which a window washer falls from scaffolding. Employers or other companies responsible for the workers safety can fail to properly train or supervise the work of the window washer. This failure in turn can cause the death of the window washer. Failures of equipment or harnesses can also cause death to window washers. If the equipment or harness has a design or manufacturing defect that can cause a failure which in turn causes injury or death the window washer.

Homes and Condominium or Homeowner Associations.

Homeowners can sometimes be held liable for persons injured on their property, although it is usually the homeowners insurance company that pays for the injuries. Even if home owner is not at fault for the injury, the homeowner’s insurance policy may pay some limited “med pay” benefits for the medical bills. Injuries at homes have been known to be caused by the following conditions: a hole in the yard, fence, or deck; stairs (with or without rails or railing), walkways, driveways, sidewalks, water features, rivers, ponds, lakes, canals, ponds, ditches, swimming pools, hot tubs, Jacuzzis, unlighted areas such as stairs or walkways, porches, propane heaters, and dogs that bite sometimes when they escape from their leash (including pit bull dogs).

Office Buildings and Museums. In this context, people visiting office buildings and museums can be injured by faulty stairs or railing; substances left on the floor; cracked or broken sidewalks or sidewalks with leaves, ice or other debris; and loose manhole covers.

Abandoned Buildings and Abandoned Factories. Abandoned buildings and abandoned factories can be very dangerous places that provide unsafe conditions.  Injury can result from a variety of things including: broken windows, broken equipment, down power lines that can electrocute a person,utility poles or guy wires in disrepair or harmful coal dust.  Another danger lies in the abandoned parking lot where someone could be abducted or raped. 

Miscellaneous. Premises owner may also be held liable for the following hazards: failure to protect golf course workers from flying golf balls.

Inadequate Security. Injury or death can be caused by inadequate security.  Inadequate security can allow a shooting, stabbing, rape, robbery, theft, assault, murder or other criminal activity to occur where none would otherwise occur with proper security. Inadequate security can occur in or around parks, banks, rentals, apartment complex parking lots, apartment complex laundry rooms, shopping centers, grocery stores, shopping malls, hotels and motels, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, department stores, large retail stores, parking garages, or sidewalk areas. Inadequate security can take the form of failure to post security guards, failure to warn about dangerous tenants or tenants with a criminal background, landlord's failure to give notice of other crimes or assaults, failure to provide sufficient lighting, and landlord's failure to provide working locks on doors and latches on windows.

Miscellaneous. Premises owner may also be held liable for the following hazards: failure to protect golf course workers from flying golf balls.

For premises liability cases involving accidents or personal injury from nursing home neglect and abuse, please click on www.nwnursinghomelaw.com. This site provides more specific information on nursing home abuse and neglect or finding a nursing home neglect lawyer in Portland Oregon.

If you have a potential premises liability case in Washington, please visit our sister-site for Washington. 

Cities Served in Oregon:

Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Newport, Toledo, Florence, Reedsport, St. Helens, Scappoose, Portland, Forest Grove, Aloha, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Gladstone, West Linn, Oregon City, Newberg, McMinnville, Molalla, Woodburn, Mount Hood, Keizer, Salem, Silverton, Dallas, Stayton, Lebanon, Sweet Home, Springfield, Eugene, Oceanside, Cottage Grove, Oakridge, Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras, The Dalles, Chenoweth, Hood River, Hermiston, Milton, Freewater, LaGrande, Baker City, Burns, Lakeview, Ashland, Klamath Falls, Brookings, Pendleton, Seaside, Medford, Grants Pass, Tri-City, Myrtle Creek, Winston, Roseburg, Green Sutherlin, Coos Bay, North Bend, Reedsport, and Brookings.

Counties Served in Oregon:

Baker County, Benton County, Clackamas County, Clatsop County, Columbia County, Coos County, Crook County, Curry County, Deschutes County, Douglas County, Gilliam County, Grant County, Harney County, Hood River County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Josephine County, Klamath County, Lake County, Lane County, Lincoln County, Linn County, Malheur County, Marion County, Morrow County, Multnomah County, Polk County, Sherman County, Tillamook County, Umatilla County, Union County, Wallowa County, Wasco County, Washington County, Wheeler County, Yamhill County.

Cities Served in Washington:

Bellingham, Anacortes, Oak Harbor, Lynden, Everett, Shorelin, Seattle, Bremerton, Tacoma, Olympia, Hoquiam, Aberdeen, Centralia, Chehalis, Longview, Port Angeles, Neah Bay, Aberdeen, Vancouver, Wenatchee, Spokane, Moses Lake, Walla Walla, Richland, Kennewick, Yakima, Umatilla, Sunnyside, Grandview, Toppenish, Cheney, Ephreta, Kent, Shelton, Hoquiam, Port, Townsend, Centralia, Redmond, Inglewood, Sedre, Wooley, Mount Vernon, Mill Creek, Kikland, Bellevue, Renton, and Auburn.

Counties Served in Washington:

Adams County, Asotin County, Benton County, Chelan County, Clark County, Columbia County, Cowlitz County, Douglas County, Ferry County, Franklin County, Garfield County, Grant County, Grays Harbor County, Island County, Jefferson County, King County, Kitsap County, Kittitas County, Klickitat County, Lewis County, Lincoln County, Mason County, Okanogan County, Pacific County, Pend Oreille County, Pierce County, San Juan County, Skagit County, Skamania County, Snohomish County, Spokane County, Stevens County, Thurston County, Wahkiakum County, Walla Walla County, Whatcom County, Whitman County, Yakima County.