St Petersburg Public Property Premises Liability Lawyer
The liability in private properties versus public properties often comes down to sovereign immunity and governmental duty versus the liability of a business owner or a homeowner. The property owner is the person that is responsible for the property. When it is a public property, the responsible party is either the state, the county, city or other governmental entity. The individual would not sue a person or a company but instead, file against the government.
Speak with a distinguished premises liability attorney regarding any damages you may have suffered due to the action or inaction of a public entity. A St Petersburg public property premises liability lawyer can review the facts of your case and help you develop a worthy claim for court.
St Petersburg’s Duty of Care
The duty of care for St Petersburg is similar to that of a property owner. A public invitee is someone invited to enter and remain on the public property for a purpose for which the land is held open. For instance, when someone is at a public park, the City of St Petersburg has a duty to keep the conditions reasonably safe, warn of dangers they know or should know about, and protect users from any foreseeable third-party crimes.
The major difference for an injury on public property is not necessarily the duty factor have but the limits of liability. The sovereign immunity cap on damages that a person can sue the government for is $200,000 per person and $300,000 per claim, so per tort action that occurs on that public property. It is important for potential clients to assess the appropriate amount of damages with their St Petersburg public property premises liability lawyer.
Likelihood of Settling
A person must put the government on notice that they will file a claim file the lawsuit. When a person sues a public entity, they are much more likely to litigate it than a private commercial insurance company. This means they are very quick to fight these claims and to litigate them, and they very rarely settle before the case goes to court.
Implementing Local Negligence Standards
Individuals assert the same elements whether public or private property; those entities still have a duty to protect citizens and keep the property in a reasonably safe condition. If they breach that duty, and a dangerous condition results that is not corrected, and that breach of duty causes an injury to a person, a person will file a claim. They will need to show the entity had a duty breached that duty, and that breach caused damages to the injured party.
Impact of Property Classification
There are two major complications when a person is suing a public entity. The first is the notice requirement that a person must take which they do not have to take in a private premises liability case. There is a cap on the damages an individual can claim, which is $200,000. If someone dies, has a catastrophic injury, or loses a limb, an individual can still only claim up to $200,000 with the help of a St Petersburg public property premises liability lawyer.
Collecting Recovery
The cap can prevent people from being able to seek damages. If a person has $500,000 of medical bills, they will not collect anything for his or her pain and suffering because they can only collect $200,000. Despite the cap on these public injury cases, individuals can still claim damages for past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, loss of the ability to earn, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.