In Connecticut, property owners and occupiers are responsible for maintaining a reasonably safe environment for visitors and others lawfully on the premises. This includes commercial properties like stores and restaurants and residential properties like apartment buildings and private homes. However, situations can arise where a third party is responsible for a hazard that leads to injury.
For a third party to be held liable, they must have created or aggravated the dangerous condition on the property that led to the injury. This could happen in various ways. Here are some specific examples:
Construction workers or renovators — A contractor’s excavation in progress might be a tripping hazard for people entering on the property. Likewise, tools left in the open could be dangerous, especially to children.
Delivery personnel — A delivery person might leave a package on a doormat, where a person exiting the doorway might slip or trip on it.
Cleaning personnel — A maintenance worker mopping a restroom might leave a floor wet, with no signs to warn users of the hazard.
Product installers or repairers — An appliance or other large object that is incorrectly installed or inadequately repaired may cause an accident, such as a light fixture falling from a ceiling.
The fact that a third party caused the dangerous condition does not absolve the property owner or occupier of responsibility to ensure the safety of the premises. In Connecticut, liability for accidents is apportioned based on degree of fault. In addition, owners or occupiers can be held vicariously liable for harm caused by contractors they hire. A premises injury case may involve cross-claims between owners and occupiers and contractors over their shares of liability.
The injured party’s conduct is also a factor. In the first place, a party cannot recover any damages unless they were a person lawfully on the property, such as an invited house guest, a customer in a store or a person performing an expected service. Secondly, under Connecticut’s comparative fault rule, an injured party will have their damages reduced to the extent that their own negligence contributed to the accident, such as ignoring warning signs posted near the hazardous condition.
If you are injured on someone else's property, a Connecticut personal injury attorney can analyze the facts and advise you about your options for seeking financial compensation.
Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. in East Haven and Hamden litigates Connecticut cases arising from premises accidents. Please call 203-745-0942 or contact us online for a free initial consultation.
Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. is located in Hamden, CT and serves clients in and around North Haven, Hamden, Waterbury, Bethany, Milford, Wallingford, Prospect, Woodbridge, Northford, Madison, Beacon Falls, Branford, Cheshire, North Branford, East Haven, Naugatuck, Meriden, Ansonia and New Haven County.
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