Articles Posted in Premises Liability

You may already know that business operators and landowners can be held liable for injuries that occur on their property. Slip-and-fall accidents (also called fall down accidents or trip and falls) fall under a category of negligence law known as premises liability. What you may not know is that businesses’ and property owners’ liability can…

The Massachusetts recreational use statute, also known as the Massachusetts public use statute, shields from liability those who make their land available to the public for recreational use in certain situations. Of course, this exemption is not automatic, and a landowner must prove that he, she, or it is entitled to immunity under the circumstances…

Premises liability lawsuits can arise from a number of circumstances: negligent maintenance, defective design, and debris left in walking areas, just to name a few. In these types of cases, sometimes referred to as slip and fall or trip and fall accidents, an injured person can potentially recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, pain…

Under Massachusetts law, insurance companies have an obligation to act promptly, fairly, and equitably with regard to the settlement of litigation between its insured and those who make claims against the insured in situations in which the insured’s liability is reasonably clear. They also have a duty to refrain from unfair or deceptive practices. Naturally,…

Americans are eating out more often than ever, spending billions of hard-earned dollars on restaurant meals annually. It therefore comes as no surprise that food poisoning cases, too, are becoming more common. A national chain of Mexican restaurants is now being accused of sickening dozens of people in two states. One of the alleged sufferers…

Business owners are supposed to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition. This includes performing necessary maintenance, regularly inspecting the property for dangers, and taking other, related steps to keep patrons from being injured. If a property owner or business operator breaches the duty of care owed to a patron, he or she can…

The idea of holding a person, business, or government accountable for harm that can be felt but not seen is nothing new. For instance, there have been a number of successful lawsuits filed by farmers who claimed that stray voltage harmed their dairy cattle and consequently their bottom lines. Now, a Massachusetts family has reportedly…

While negligence law generally serves to hold those who owe and breach a duty of care to others responsible for any resulting harm proximately caused by the breached duty, this is not always so for governmental entities such as cities, towns, and states. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity (sometimes expressed as “rex non potest…

You may already be aware that certain filing deadlines, called statutes of limitations, limit the time that an injured person has to file suit against the responsible party. What you may not know is that there are other time limits that must be complied with in certain situations, and the failure to comply with such…

The basic concept of negligence law is that those who breach a duty of care owed to another should be held financially accountable for any resulting damages that proximately result from the breached duty. While the idea is simple, proving a particular case can sometimes be difficult. In premises liability lawsuits, for instance, there can…