Missouri Injury Attorneys - Premises Liability Law

What 'Duty' is Owed to Persons on the Premises?

Missouri is a state which looks to the classification of the injury victim in order to determine what, if any, duty is owed to that person. For example, if you are in a restaurant eating dinner and are injured during your visit then Missouri courts will classify you as an 'invitee'.  An invitee is a person "invited on the premises by the owner for the purpose of patronizing the business establishment."  Other examples of an invitee include:

• A prospective purchaser in a retail store
• A prospective member of a church
• A customer in a restaurant
• A grocery store patron while parking her automobile on the store's lot
• A driver of a truck making a delivery
• A postman while delivering mail
• A customer using a bathroom in a store where the bathroom was maintained for customers
• Government inspectors on a premises in furtherance of their duties

The duty of a premises owner to an invitee is absolute. This duty is to actively seek out any dangerous conditions upon the premises and to either warn of its presence and set up a barricade or remedy the dangerous condition to make it safe.

Liability of Premises Owners to Injuries Resulting from Third-Party Conduct

In Missouri, the owner of a business is subject to liability to invitees for personal injuries inflicted by the acts of other patrons or third persons if the owner:

• by the exercise of reasonable care could have known that the conduct was occurring or was about to occur, and
• could have protected customers by controlling this conduct or by giving adequate warning to customers so that they could have avoided the danger.

It is important to know that a premises owner generally will not be liable for personal injuries caused by the intentional criminal acts of third persons.  However, Missouri courts have determined that liability will attach in a few specific special circumstances:

• There is a history on the premises of specific acts of criminal violence (i.e. aggravated assault, theft, etc)
• Specific persons have committed violent crimes on the premises in the past
• The person who caused the plaintiff personal injuries on this occasion has been on the premises before and acted violently (a.k.a 'notice')

In order to fall into one of these special circumstances, a Missouri personal injury victim must prove that there had been specific incidents of violent crimes on the premises that are sufficiently numerous and recent so to place the defendant on notice of this 'history of violence.'  Some courts have ruled that when the premises owner adequately warns patrons of a presence of potential violence that the patron assumes a potential risk of injury.

Missouri Slip-and-Fall Cases

The elements that an injury victim must prove in a slip & fall claim are relatively straight forward:

• There must have been some foreign substance (i.e. liquid, grease, etc) present on the floor, and
• The defendant knew, or should have known, of the existence of the foreign substance yet failed to warn others or remove the hazard

Premises owners have an obligation to exercise reasonable care to keep their property in a safe condition.  Injury victims must demonstrate that defendants could have discovered the dangerous condition or substance in sufficient time to either correct it or warn of its presence.

When the Defendant is a Municipality

Missouri has a strict notice requirement when the owner of the premises is a city or municipality.  To illustrate, imagine a situation where the injury victim falls in a pothole on a city sidewalk and alleges that since the city owns the sidewalks it should be liable.  It is absolutely critical that this type of injury victim contact Missouri premises liability injury attorney Stephen Schultz immediately.  Pursuant to the Missouri Revised Statutes, an injury victim must place the city on "notice" of a personal injury claim within 90 days of the incident.  If proper notice is not provided then the injury claimant is barred from recovery.  Common places of injury that would fall within this notice requirement include bridges, boulevards, streets, sidewalks, and thoroughfares.

Need to discuss your premises liability claim immediately?  Contact St. Louis Premises Liability Injury Attorney Stephen Schultz today today and get the experienced attorneys at Schultz Legal Group on your side! Our lawyers are available anytime at (314) 448-0934, toll-free (866) 840-3636, or by email to discuss your premises liability injury claim.  Don't be victimized twice.