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When you are at someone’s house or vacation property, the person who owns the land should warn you about dangerous conditions so you can take steps to protect yourself. Likewise, the landowner should maintain their grounds by removing dangerous obstacles when they appear. When you get hurt because they fail to follow through on these or other responsibilities required of them under the law, you may be entitled to request a financial settlement.
As you move through the recovery process, you may find it useful to work with a Chesterton private property liability lawyer at our firm. We could investigate the circumstances that caused you harm and help you to identify possible avenues to seek restitution. Our seasoned premises liability attorneys could also help you discover the applicable filing deadlines that may apply and estimate your total damages.
While there are many instances where an unsuspecting person gets hurt at a business, there are equally as many situations involving private lands (e.g., a house or apartment). For example, a neighbor’s vicious dog may get loose and bite a child playing in their own yard. Likewise, someone’s heavy wooden fence could fall onto a person in the next yard over.
In other situations, a person could drown in a friend’s swimming pool or get killed when a balcony collapses. In any of these instances, a person in Chesterton, or their family, could connect with a lawyer to file a private property liability lawsuit and hold the negligent landowner liable.
A plaintiff may seek compensation from a careless neighbor, friend, acquaintance, or other community member. That said, they must take this empowering step within a specific window of time, referred to as the statute of limitations. While each situation (and the allegations they involve) may call for a different result, Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4 gives most people just two years to file a claim.
However, there are important exceptions that may change the applicable deadline. For example, under IN Code § 34-11-6-1, an injured child may have two years from when they turn 18 to file a claim. In that situation, the parents or the child may, for example, partner with a Chesterton lawyer and help them file a private property liability claim against the person.
In most situations, an adult who trespasses onto someone else’s land cannot sue the owner if they get hurt unless the proprietor willfully did something to harm them. But, under IN Code § 34-31-11-3 (the attractive nuisance doctrine), a child injured after trespassing onto a neighboring property may qualify for a settlement. A Chesterton attorney could provide guidance and legal support to a parent whose child was hurt on someone else’s land.
For this exception to apply, a couple of conditions need to be met. The property must have something on it (e.g., a pool or jungle gym) that poses a risk to children and that they are drawn to. Likewise, the dangers that come with interacting with that structure should be something children have difficulty navigating or appreciating.
When you or your child experience a debilitating or painful injury because of a landowner’s mistake, the law may equip you with a way to seek justice. You will be in a much better position if you have McCready Law at your side.
Our team understands the incredible challenges you and your family may face in the aftermath of a serious accident. Reach out to a Chesterton private property liability lawyer on our team to schedule a free, initial consultation of your case.