Who is at Fault? In a Premises Liability Case

Indiana law treats premises injuries different based on the status of the person at the time they were injured. There are three classifications of persons: invitee, licensee, or trespasser. An invitee is a person invited upon the property by express or implied invitation. This could be a social guest or business customer. A business like Walmart is considered to be open for anyone who wants to go to their store to shop.  When you arrive at a Walmart store, you are considered an invitee, even though you likely did not receive an express invitation from Walmart.

An invitee receives the highest protection under the law. The law requires property owners or occupants to exercise reasonable care for the safety of invitees while they are on their property.

Indiana law presumes that in the case of an accident both the person harmed and the property owner each bears some responsibility for prevention. This joint responsibility is called a modified comparative negligence statute.

What this means is that you may be entitled to compensation if the court determines you bear no more than 50 percent of the responsibility for your accident and subsequent injury.

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