Arnold and Itkin LLP issued the following announcement on Sept. 24.
In the state of Texas, premises liability makes landowners responsible for any injuries that occur while someone is on their property. Even if someone is a trespasser, landowners have a responsibility to protect their safety. Knowing this and other laws may help you understand your premises liability case.
Unique Liability Rules
Like most states, Texas has its own set of unique laws and exceptions concerning premises liability. These rules can be surprising to those who are not familiar with them. Knowing these rules will help those with premises liability disputes know what they are actually responsible for legally. These unique rules include the following:
Trespassers – Generally speaking, landowners have a responsibility to provide safety for those they have invited on their property. If someone is injured while trespassing, landowners are not responsible for their injuries. However, if the person is trespassing and the landowner is aware of their intrusion while it is happening, there is an obligation to protect the trespassing party from known dangers.
Illegal acts – In Texas, a landowner has no responsibility to step in and prevent altercations between two people or prevent another from being harmed by an illegal act of an individual. However, they must prevent such action in certain cases involving minors, employees, or contractors.
Independent Contractors – If an independent contractor is injured while performing duties, landowners are only held responsible under certain circumstances. This included situations in which the landowner was aware of the danger that injured the independent contractor ahead of time.
Government Liability - If a person employed by the government is negligent, Texas law allows citizens to pursue damages.
Workers Compensation - Whether an employer is subscribing or non-subscribing, they are not required to warn employees of obvious dangers.
Do You Have A Premises Liability Case?
The items listed above are, at best, a general summary of laws that are complex and require precedents from other cases to be fully applied. If you believe you are owed compensation based on premises liability law, the best action to take is speaking with a qualified lawyer.
Original source can be found here.