premises liability

September 15, 2017

Maine Grocery Store Sued for Premises Liability After Violent Attack

In the criminal justice system, only those with actual involvement in the crime will be held to account. But in the civil justice system, victims of violent criminal attacks may seek compensation from third parties in some circumstances – even if the third party had no part in the facilitation of the crime. A Maine negligent security lawyer can help bring this type of claim.

Primarily, this occurs in situations in which a property owner or venue had a duty of care to protect customers or occupants, but it failed to do so. Even though a property owner isn’t necessarily aware that a particular crime is about to be carried out, some offenses may be foreseeable, based on:

A pattern of prior similar occurrences on or near that property;

April 26, 2017

Maine Supreme Judicial Court Rules on Campus Injury Lawsuit

by Peter Thompson & Associates

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a summary judgment in favor of a university and against a student who suffered an injury in a slip-and-fall accident on campus.

According to court records, the issue in this case was not the merits of the plaintiff’s case but instead whether she filed within the statutory 180-day filing period according to 14 M.R.S. § 8107, which details the notice that is required when a plaintiff plans to file a lawsuit against a governmental entity. Many colleges are considered governmental entities, and therefore, plaintiffs making injury claims against them must follow such provisions.

Per the facts viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff (as the one against whom the summary judgment was entered), the plaintiff suffered an injury when she slipped and fell on a patch of ice outside her dorm on the Gorham campus of the University of Southern Maine. This injury occurred in mid-January 2014. As a result of that fall, the plaintiff suffered a broken leg and torn ligaments and had to undergo surgery.

January 2, 2017

Homeowner Sued for Maine Woman’s Death in Fatal Fall

by Peter Thompson & Associates

Usually, when we think of property owner liability, we’re thinking of a business that is responsible after a customer slips and falls or is attacked in a parking lot. But premises liability can extend to private homeowners too. It does depend on the situation, and private homeowners usually don’t owe the same high level of care to their guests that businesses do when they welcome members of the public. Nonetheless, a failure to use reasonable care can result in liability. Claims are typically paid by one’s homeowners’ insurance.

Recently, the father of a single mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a private homeowner responsible for a house in Waterville where his daughter suffered a fatal fall from the second story.

According to The Portland Press Herald, the 33-year-old woman, from Clinton, was killed a year ago after she fell after stepping out a set of sliding glass doors on the second floor. The problem was that while the doors were supposed to open up to a balcony, that feature hadn’t yet been built. Nonetheless, the homeowner, who was hosting a holiday party, failed to block off those doors or take measures to stop people from opening the door or from walking outside.