An injury victim’s status refers to why they were on the property when they suffered injuries, which directly affects the legal duty that the property owner owes them.
The extent of this legal duty ranges from guests invited onto the property to trespassers, who have no legal authority to be on the property, as follows:
Invitees are people who property owners want to visit the property for their own benefit, such as guests, customers, and friends.
Licensees are people present on the property with permission of the owner, but for their mutual benefit, such as construction or utility workers.
Trespassers have no permission to be on the property, so the owners owe them the lowest duty of care. The only duty of the property owner is to refrain from causing any intentional or willful harm to trespassers.