3 Ways To Make Your Home Safer From Premises Liability
Brian O Sutter
Premises Liability
Premises liability is a legal concept that applies to both commercial business spaces and private residences. It means that property owners must take reasonable precautions to ensure a safe environment. If they find a possible risk in the environment that could result in injury, decide to ignore it. That negligence results in harm, or even death, the property owner must answer for this both legally and financially.Fortunately, there are some relatively simple things you can do to avoid this kind of burden, and here are three of the most reliable ways to avoid premises liability if you’re a homeowner.
Store Firearms
In 2018 alone, there were 73 deaths across America involving children under the age of 12 and the accidental discharge of firearms. In other words, over 70 children died due to firing guns they should never have been able to reach in the first place. The #1 cause for death in children in this manner is because homeowners want to protect their family as quickly as possible. As a result, they don’t take precautions with their weapons when it comes to storage.
While it is the constitutional right of every American to own a weapon for self-defense, the law holds gun owners responsible when children gain access to those weapons and use them. Understandably, a homeowner would want to access a gun quickly in an emergency, but leaving a firearm in a drawer without a lock, or, in some of the most tragic cases, sitting on a coffee table, unattended, can result in tragic cases of premises liability involving child injury or death.
Supervise Pool Use
One of the most common causes of child death in the home is, unfortunately, the swimming pool. Drowning is the primary cause of accidental death for children between the ages of 1-4. The reason for this is simple. Most of the time, children in this age range can’t swim, and yet, at the same time, they are often left to their own devices in places such as swimming pools.
The best way to avoid a child drowning is, quite simply, to be there. Supervising children is always a good idea, but in a swimming pool area, with children that can’t swim, it is essential. All it takes is a few minutes without adult supervision for a child to drown, so always have someone present.
Maintain Your Home
Dead branches falling from a tree, or people falling downstairs because of a step that needs repairs are common ways that anyone—not just children—can be injured at a private residence. Branches, for example, present a clear, preventable hazard. All you have to do is look up and see whether a branch is in good health or not, then remove it.
Similarly, crooked steps or stairs in need of repair can—and should—be fixed. If someone is walking down your stairs, trips on an uneven step then falls, and is injured, that is a textbook case of premises liability. There is no reason that step should have remained a hazard.
So if you’re injured due to premises liability at a home or public space, talk to a slip and fall lawyer about your next move.