Holding a Business Responsible

Helping Hold Negligent Businesses Accountable

In Indiana, holding a business responsible depends upon proving “fault” of the landowner or property manager. After all, there is no such as thing as a landowner or business owing a duty to insure the customer’s safety while on their property.

Thus, proving “fault” depends upon the level of care that is owed to you while on another’s property. Your status on the land is always determinative of the type of care the landowner owes you.

For example, trespassers are not owed many protections from a landowner – only the duty to refrain from harming intentionally or willfully him. But customers and people invited on the land are owed the highest duty of care by a landowner, store, business or restaurant – the duty of “reasonable care” to protect the customer from foreseeable dangers.

At Shaw Law, we maintain that it is never “reasonable” to do anything that isn’t the safest possible action by a landowner. Contact our office at (260) 777-7777 to schedule your consultation. 

A premises owner will be held liable if he knew about the dangerous condition or should have known about the potentially dangerous condition by the condition existing for such a length of time that it would have been discovered in time to prevent the injury.

Reasonable inspections are required under Indiana law by a careful landowner, business, store or restaurant to discovery potentially dangerous conditions. Also, a duty exists to remove natural accumulations of ice and snow by a business landowner, store or restaurant under Indiana law.

Do I Have Grounds for a Claim?

A business or a store is only liable to customers and invited persons for a slip and fall accident on its property if the business or store was negligent and if the negligence directly attributed to the cause of the accident.

Falling in a store does not necessarily mean you have legal grounds to successfully pursue a slip and fall injury case.

There must have been an “unsafe condition” which the property owner knew about and failed to take action or should have known but failed to warn you about. You must prove that the company knew or should have known about that unsafe condition and that the unsafe condition directly contributed to your slip and fall injury.

A very important question in these business liability cases is who can you sue. The nature of a claim's negligence will dictate who you can sue.