What duty of care do property owners owe Kennewick residents?
In Washington, the liability of a property owner depends on the reason a person is on the premises: Invitees. These are people that businesses and organizations invite onto the property to buy goods, use services, participate in activities, or for other reasons. The highest duty of care is owed to an invitee. Licensees. These are people who have the right to be on the property but aren’t invited onto the property. A common example is a neighbor who falls while walking on the sidewalk of another neighbor. Trespassers. No duty of care is owed to trespassers who have no right to be on the property, unless the “attractive nuisance” doctrine can be invoked. The general duty of care of any property owner includes conducting routine inspections of the property for possible dangers, fixing known dangers, warning uses of known dangers that have not been fixed, hiring security guards, and responding to complaints about the condition of the property.