Were you injured on someone else’s property in Boston, MA? A negligent property owner may owe you compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. An experienced Boston premises liability lawyer at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP can help you fight for the full compensation you deserve.
Since our founding more than a decade ago, we’ve dedicated our practice to helping injured clients across Boston. Our hard work has helped us recover tens of millions of dollars in compensation.
Call our law firm in Boston, Massachusetts at (774)-341-5778 to schedule a free consultation today.
How Our Boston Premises Liability Attorneys Can Help With Your Claim
When you’re hurt, you can feel the pressure quickly. You may be trying to determine how to pay for medical care–while struggling to pay your daily bills if you can’t work. Even if someone else is liable for your expenses, getting money in your pocket can be difficult.
You need money, and you need it quickly. However, it’s important to ensure you get the full amount you deserve. Hiring an experienced Boston premises liability lawyer can pay off for your family.
Our Boston personal injury attorneys at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP have more than 100 years of combined experience fighting for clients like you. Our attorneys have been awarded professional designations such as “Super Lawyers,” “Rising Stars,” and “Most Powerful” attorneys in Massachusetts.
We’ll put our experience to work for you by:
- Locating evidence of your accident/injury, such as video footage, witness testimony, and safety reports
- Hiring experts in medicine, finance, and other specialties as needed to prove your damages
- Protecting you if the insurance company blames you for the accident
- Negotiating with the insurance companies to maximize your compensation
- Taking your case to trial to recover the full damages you deserve.
Are you interested in learning more about how our award-winning team will put our resources to work for you? Call today to discuss your case with a Boston premises liability attorney who can help.
Overview of Premises Liability Claims in Boston, Massachusetts
Property owners have a duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for guests and invitees. If a property owner fails to correct or warn of dangerous conditions on their property, they can be liable when those hazards cause injuries to their guests. This is the essence of premises liability.
Typically, when people think of premises liability claims, they think of slip and fall accidents. However, you can get hurt on someone else’s property in many different ways.
The following incidents can each trigger a premises liability claim:
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Apartment building accidents
- Hotel accidents
- Negligent security
- Bed bugs
- Elevator accidents
- Escalator accidents
- Food poisoning
- Exposure to toxic chemicals
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Sports complex accidents
- Restaurant accidents
- Parking lot accidents
- Hospital accidents
- School accidents
- Assault and sexual assault
- Swimming pool accidents
You could have a valid premises liability case if you were hurt on someone else’s property. At Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP, we have over a decade of experience handling premises liability cases like yours. Our lawyers would be happy to evaluate your case and discuss your legal options. Just give us a call to schedule a free case review today.
Swimming Pool Accidents and Premise Liability
Whether you are the owner of a pool and are looking to prevent potential premise liability hazards or are simply looking to enjoy some time in the water, there are many steps you can take to ensure everyone’s safety around the pool, including the following:
Install Appropriate Barriers
If young children are in the vicinity of a swimming pool, it is recommended that you surround the area with a four to five-foot protective barrier to prevent accidental falls in. You may even consider installing a pool alarm to alert you if anyone falls in the pool unexpectedly.
Never Leave a Child Unattended
Protective barriers aside, supervision is essential to ensuring a child’s safety around a pool. A drowning person can only struggle on the surface for less than a minute before becoming submerged. Moreover, more than half of the children who drown in a given year are only 25 yards away from an adult or parent.
Swimming Lessons
Teaching your child to be comfortable in the water can increase pool safety. Swim classes are offered at a very early age and can be potentially lifesaving.
Limit Diving
Up to 6,500 adolescents are hospitalized each year because of diving-related injuries, with 70% occurring because of head-first dives. Set rules against head first and shallow water diving to ensure swimmers don’t sustain serious brain and spinal cord injuries on your premise.
Warn Against Swimming Near Drains
While it may seem like a rare occurrence, having clothing or hair sucked into a drain can trap someone underwater. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, named after a deceased child who suffered a fatality due to the suction of a spa drain, provides new regulations for drain covers. Even if everything has been installed and working properly, warning swimmers is the best course of action to prevent accidental drownings due to drains.
CPR Training
Knowing basic CPR can save someone’s life in a swimming pool accident or help keep them alive until emergency personnel arrives. As mentioned above, accidents involving pools fall under the category of premises liability. Improper safety regulations or supervision can lead to responsibility for any accident caused on your property, so ensure to utilize all necessary precautions. Keeping pool-goers safe should be a top priority regardless of where liability falls.
What is My Boston Premises Liability Case Worth?
Insurance companies often go to great lengths to undervalue an injury. You don’t have to let them get away with it. You can fight back by hiring an experienced attorney to assess the value of your personal injury claim.
Each case is unique. Our lawyers will review your case with a fine-tooth comb to analyze all relevant factors that could influence the value of your premises liability claim, including:
- The cost of your medical treatment and rehabilitation (including past and future needs)
- Your lost wages, income, and expenses
- The level of emotional distress and physical pain that you suffered
- The long-term impact of the injury on your quality of life
- Whether you share any blame for the premises liability accident
Calling an experienced Boston premises liability lawyer is the best way to get an idea of what your case is worth. Our premises liability attorneys are always available to discuss your options, so call today for more information.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims in a Premises Liability Case?
It wasn’t your fault that you got hurt. However, the person responsible can’t erase your injuries. That’s why Massachusetts personal injury laws are designed to ensure you’re compensated for your economic and non-economic damages after your Boston premises liability accident.
Your economic damages are your financial costs, including:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Future medical bills
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Physical therapy
- Property damage
Your non-economic damages are your physical and emotional suffering, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Anxiety or depression
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of consortium
To recover fair compensation, you’ll have to prove these damages. An experienced premises liability lawyer can make a world of difference in these cases. Call for a free initial consultation today to learn more about how Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP will help you fight for all of the damages you deserve.
Can I Recover Damages If I’m Blamed for My Premises Liability Accident in Massachusetts?
Negligent parties usually aren’t quick to take responsibility for their actions. Your claim will ultimately be handled by the insurance company–not the property owner.
Insurance companies know personal injury laws inside and out. They know that they could reduce their overall financial liability by blaming the victim.
However, you may be entitled to damages even if you are partly responsible for your injuries. Under Massachusetts’s modified comparative negligence laws, you can recover damages if you were less than 51% responsible for getting hurt. However, your damages will be reduced to account for your share of fault.
You cannot recover damages if you are over 51% to blame for your injuries. Our attorneys will challenge any allegations that you caused your injuries and ensure you recover the full damages you deserve.
We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Injuries
An injury can put you in a difficult position. In addition to painful medical care and rehabilitation, you might be unable to work while recovering.
Our Boston premises liability attorneys will fight to help you recover compensation for all of your injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Concussions
- Spinal cord injuries
- Wrist injuries
- Broken hips
- Concussions
- Back injuries
- Knee injuries
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue damage
- Cuts, lacerations, and puncture wounds
- Burns
- Paralysis
Some injuries can be catastrophic and lead to wrongful death. If you were seriously hurt or lost a loved one, we can help you fight for full compensation. All you have to do is call, and we’ll get started.
How Do I Prove Negligence in a Massachusetts Premises Liability Case?
“Premises” is a term used to describe someone else’s property. It includes the interior and exterior of the property. Property owners are responsible for keeping their premises reasonably safe for invited guests and visitors. They can be held liable if they’re negligent in this duty and cause someone to get hurt.
The scope of the property owner’s legal duty depends on why the visitor was present on the property. Visitors on a property can be classified as invitees, licensees or trespassers.
Business Invitees
Property owners owe a heightened duty of care to business invitees. As the name suggests, a business invitee is invited onto the property for some type of business purpose.
You might be classified as an invitee if you’re:
- Dining in a restaurant
- Shopping at the grocery store
- Attending a concert or professional sports game
- Attending a meeting in a downtown office building
Property owners have a special duty to keep invitees safe; business owners are responsible for the following:
- Inspecting the property to identify any hidden hazards
- Fixing any known dangers on the property
- Providing adequate warning if the unsafe condition can’t be fixed immediately
The exact nature of the duty depends on the circumstances. For example, a hotel owner is responsible for regularly inspecting the elevators to ensure they’re in good working condition. Landlords are responsible for providing adequate lighting in stairwells and shared hallways. The owner of a bar may be required to install security cameras and hire security guards to keep patrons safe from criminal activity.
Licensees
Licensees are social guests. You’re a licensee when you visit a friend’s house to attend a dinner party or visit a family member in their home.
Private property owners have a duty to warn licensees about any known dangers. However, the scope of their duty is limited — they aren’t required to inspect for or repair hazards.
Trespassers
Most property owners aren’t responsible when trespassers are hurt on their property. Typically, property owners must avoid intentionally harming a trespasser–but they don’t have to take steps to keep them safe.
An exception exists for small children who wander onto the property because of an “attractive nuisance.” Property owners might have an obligation to prevent injuries to young children who could be attracted to something on the property–like a swimming pool. For example, a property owner could satisfy their duty by installing a fence around their pool.
How Long Do I Have to File a Premises Liability Lawsuit in Massachusetts?
The statute of limitations under Massachusetts premises liability law is three years. You have three years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. You’ll lose your right to compensation after the three-year anniversary of your accident passes.
Contact an Experienced Premises Liability Lawyer in Boston, MA for a Free Consultation
The experienced premises liability lawyers at Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers have over 45 years of experience fighting for Boston victims harmed by property owner negligence. Managing partner, Attorney Peter M. Merrigan, was named “Top 40 Under 40 Trial Attorney” and “Rising Star” for consecutive years and has produced exceptional results for liability victims. Our attorneys handle a variety of cases including premises liability, and have achieved several six and seven-figure resolutions. We know how to fight for your legal rights from consultation to trial.
If your injury occurred on someone else’s property, the Boston premises liability lawyers at Sweeney Merrigan Law, LLP can help. We serve clients in Boston, Bristol County, and Essex County. We offer a free consultation, so contact our law offices today.
