Those injured on someone else’s property need to understand that landowners in Texas do not owe the same duty of care to everyone who steps onto their property. For example, landowners have almost no duty to protect trespassers from accidental harm—although they cannot do anything to harm them intentionally, such as setting traps or allowing hazardous conditions to get worse.
When it comes to “licensees” visiting lawfully for their own purposes, such as guests at a house party, property owners must provide proper warnings of known hazards and take reasonable steps to fix them. For “invitees” visiting lawfully for the landowner’s benefit, such as customers in a retail store, landowners must also inspect their property regularly to identify new hazards as quickly as possible.
With all this in mind, establishing what type of duty a landowner owed a person is a vital first step towards effectively pursuing a claim against them. A knowledgeable Beaumont attorney could explain how state law applies to a premises liability case and help collect relevant evidence to incorporate into a comprehensive settlement demand or lawsuit.