It is important for you to make sure you are properly protected. If you have customers, friends, or visitors who come to your property, they expect your property to be well taken care of. Accidents can happen at any time. Unfortunately, some of them can lead to serious injuries. If you do not have premises liability insurance or adequate premises liability insurance limits, you could have to personally contribute to an injury settlement.

What is premises liability insurance, and when do you need it? If you live in the local Daytona Beach, Florida area, it is critical for you to make sure you have the right type of protection for your property.

What Is Premises Liability?

Before getting into insurance coverage, it is critical to take a closer look at what premises liability means. If you own residential or commercial property, you are responsible for taking care of that property. If someone suffers an injury on your property because you did not take care of it properly, you may be held responsible.

Of course, you are not necessarily going to be responsible for every injury someone sustains. For example, if someone is reckless and jumps out of your third-story window intentionally, routine maintenance would not be expected to stop this accident. Therefore, you likely would not be held responsible for that.

On the other hand, if someone is walking up the stairs of your patio and falls through, breaking his or her leg, you could be held responsible for the injury if it can be proven that your deck was in a state of disrepair. That is where premises liability insurance can be helpful. 

An Overview of Premises Liability Insurance

Premises liability insurance is an insurance policy that provides protection against any third-party injuries or damages that are brought against you due to issues related to your property. You might already have general liability insurance, but the two are not identical. Before you purchase premises liability insurance or general liability insurance, you need to make sure you are not purchasing the same type of coverage twice. 

Every premises liability insurance policy is different. It is important for you to read the fine print to understand what is covered and what is not. If you need to file a claim, you need to take a close look at the time of it to make sure you filed a claim on time. A legal professional can take a look at your insurance contracts and make sure you have the right type of protection. 

When You Need This Policy

There are several situations where you need premises liability coverage. They include:

• If you run a business where customers and employees are present regularly, it is important for you to make sure you have premises liability coverage. 
• If you own residential property and you entertain large groups of people regularly, you may need to purchase premises liability insurance. You should take a look at your homeowner’s insurance policy and make sure you understand what is already covered.
• If you own property and you have animals present, you should invest in premises liability coverage. Injuries stemming from animal encounters may also fall under the category of premises liability. Make sure there are not exclusions for coverage for dog bites if you own a dog.

As long as you take proper care of your property, you should be able to protect yourself against potential premises liability issues; however, you never know when an accident is going to happen. That is why you always need to have the right insurance protection. 

What Types of Issues Could Lead To Premises Liability Claims?

Now, it is important to take a closer look at when premises liability claims could be a significant issue. Some of the most common examples of problems that could lead to a premises liability problem include:

• If you own a business and you do not have adequate security, one of your employees or customers could be the victim of an assault. You could be held responsible if it can be proven you did not have any security present.
• Slip and fall injuries are some of the most common issues that lead to premises liability concerns. For example, someone could slip and fall on your sidewalk or parking lot if there are cracks from damaged pavement that should have been fixed.
• Wet floors can also lead to slip and fall injuries. You need to clean up every spill as quickly as possible. As soon as a spill is detected, you need to put out a wet floor sign to warn your employees and customers. 
• If you have damaged flooring or stairs, someone could get hurt. If you do not have signs warning people to stay away from that area, you could be held responsible for their injuries.
• If someone in your business is struck by a falling sign or piece of inventory, they could suffer serious injuries. This could lead to a premises liability issue.
• If someone is harmed by an animal you have on your property, you could be held responsible for their injuries.
• If someone trips and falls on a hidden extension cord, this could lead to serious injuries as well. You could be held responsible for this premises liability issue.
• If someone is shocked or burned by something on your property, and you did not have proper signs warning them of the issue, you could be facing a premises liability issue.

Ultimately, these are just a few of the most common situations where you could be facing a premises liability problem. The right premises liability insurance policy could protect you against the damages stemming from these accidents.

Work With Vasilaros Wagner for Premises Liability Issues in Daytona Beach, Florida

With the above all be stated, we want to make sure businesses and homeowners are properly insured because we represent clients who file claims against you. If you are not properly insured, we will have to sue you personally or your business.

If you are reading this blog and were injured during a recent visit to a local business or home, we are here to help you. We are Vasilaros Wagner, and as you can read, we understand that there are a lot of questions related to premises liability problems.

This is an area of the law that has a lot of nuance, which is why you need to work with us. We can use our expertise and experience to make sure your rights are properly protected. We always put your needs first, and we would be happy to review your case for you.

If you would like to know more about premises liability issues in the Daytona Beach area, contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you.