Damages in a Rancho Mirage Premises Liability Case
Accidents can happen anywhere at any time. You may slip while shopping at the store, or your child might be injured while playing at the park. You may even trip while walking up the porch steps. However, sometimes accidents are foreseeable. If the store had cleaned a spill, you may not have slipped. If the playground equipment had been properly maintained, your child may not have been hurt. You may have avoided tripping if your landlord had fixed the porch railing after you called.
If you have been injured on commercial, private, or public property due to the owner’s negligence, you could be entitled to compensation through a premises liability claim. Read on to learn more about how an experienced attorney could help you recover damages in a Rancho Mirage premises liability case.
Understanding Liability in Premises Liability Claims
An individual has a premises liability claim when they are injured due to the negligence of a property owner or tenant. In the case of government-owned property, they have a claim if they were injured due to a public entity’s or employee’s negligence. “Negligence” means that whoever had control of and was responsible for the property:
- Knew or should have known of a dangerous condition that caused the plaintiff’s foreseeable injury and
- Did not take reasonable steps to prevent such injury
In California, claimants may still be able to win damages, or monetary awards, even if they were partially at fault for their injury. For example, an individual speeding down a public road hits a pothole and crashes their car. While the driver should not have been speeding, the government may still be liable for not fixing the pothole that caused the car to crash. In this way, a plaintiff who is partially at fault for their own injuries can still obtain compensation through a premises liability lawsuit in Rancho Mirage.
Types of Damages Available in Premises Liability Cases
Depending on the severity and extent of the injury, plaintiffs in Rancho Mirage could obtain damages for various losses in a premises liability lawsuit. More serious injuries usually result in higher damages.
Compensation is often awarded for:
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Lost wages
- Lost or diminished future earning potential
- Property damage resulting from the accident
Claimants are often unsure of what exactly forms a basis for recovery, even if they are familiar with the above list. “Medical bills” is a broad category. “Emotional distress” can be difficult to explain or demonstrate, and “loss of consortium” is not a commonly used term. These three categories of damages are further explained below.
Medical Bills
Damages for medical bills in a premises liability case can include the costs of both short- and long-term care resulting from the injury sustained on another’s property. For example, a plaintiff might be awarded damages for emergency room visits, hospital stays, surgery, medication, or rehabilitation.
Emotional Distress
Plaintiffs could also obtain compensation for the emotional impact of an injury, such as anxiety, depression, fear, humiliation, or anger.
With the exception of public premises liability cases, plaintiffs do not necessarily have to show that they suffer from physical symptoms of emotional distress to prevail on an emotional distress claim. However, documentation or expert testimony can certainly strengthen such a claim and make damages more likely to be awarded for physical or psychosomatic conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder or insomnia.
Loss of Consortium
Damages for loss of consortium are reserved for spouses of parties injured due to a commercial, private, or public premises owner’s negligence. They are meant to compensate the spouse for the negative effect the injury can have on the couple’s marriage, such as loss of companionship, loss of care, or the inability to have sexual relations.
There is no set formula for calculating these damages, but a Rancho Mirage premises liability attorney can help plaintiffs present the strongest claim possible.
Call Today for Help Seeking Full and Fair Compensation in Your Rancho Mirage Premises Liability Claim
Rather than try to navigate a complex legal case on your own, contact an experienced attorney to learn more about the available damages in a Rancho Mirage premises liability case. Call now to schedule your free initial consultation.
