Tampa Premises Liability Lawyer

An injury on someone else’s property, whether from a broken stair rail at an apartment complex or an attack in a dark parking garage, can leave you wondering whether the owner is responsible.

Premises liability is the area of Florida law that answers that question, and it covers far more than slip and falls.

A Tampa premises liability lawyer can help sort out what duty the owner had, how the filing deadline applies, and whether shared fault could reduce a recovery.

Smith, Feddeler & Smith, P.A. represents injured people and their families, never insurance companies. Call our Tampa office at (813) 993-0559 or contact us to set up a free case evaluation.

Why Tampa Clients Choose Smith, Feddeler & Smith, P.A. for Property Injuries

A property injury can happen while someone is on the job, like a delivery driver who falls on a loading dock or a contractor hurt by a rotted stairway at a client’s building.

Workers’ compensation usually pays through the worker’s own employer, but when someone else owns or controls the property, a separate premises liability claim against that owner may also be possible.

Our firm handles both Tampa workers’ compensation claims and personal injury cases in Tampa, so one team can look at every source of recovery instead of just one.

Insurance companies also know we are prepared to take a case all the way to trial. That readiness gives us more negotiating power when a property owner’s insurer undervalues an injury.

What Is Premises Liability Under Florida Law?

Premises liability is the legal responsibility a property owner or business has when an unsafe condition on its property injures someone. It is a type of negligence claim, so the central question is whether the owner failed to use reasonable care. Under Florida common law, meaning the rules courts have built up through past decisions, the duty depends on why the injured person was there. A customer or other invited visitor, called an invitee, is owed the highest duty: the owner must keep the property reasonably safe and warn about hidden dangers it knows or should know about. Trespassers are owed far less.

Premises liability claims can come from many kinds of unsafe conditions, including:

• Slip, trip, and fall accidents
• Negligent security, meaning missing lighting, locks, or guards that let a foreseeable crime happen
• Defective stairways, railings, and elevators
• Swimming pool and pool-fence injuries
• Dog bites on commercial property

Special Rules When the Injured Person Was Trespassing

A trespasser is someone on the property without permission, express or implied. Under Florida’s trespasser immunity law, a property owner is generally not liable to a trespasser. What the owner still owes depends on the trespasser’s situation:

• Discovered trespassers: If the owner detected the trespasser within 24 hours before the injury, the owner must avoid gross negligence and intentional misconduct and must warn of known dangers that are not easy to see.
• Undiscovered trespassers: The owner must avoid intentional misconduct but has no duty to warn.
• Impaired trespassers: An owner is not liable to a trespasser with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or higher, or one impaired by drugs, unless the owner’s gross negligence or intentional misconduct caused the harm.

The same law bars negligence claims by anyone hurt while attempting or committing a felony on the property. The trespasser rules do not reach customers, invited guests, or tenants. They also leave the attractive nuisance doctrine in place, a common-law rule that can hold an owner responsible when a child is hurt while trespassing after being drawn in by something like an unfenced pool.

How Do You Prove a Slip and Fall Claim in Florida?

For a fall caused by something temporary on the floor of a business, such as a spill, Florida’s slip and fall statute requires the injured person to prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have fixed it.

Actual knowledge means the business knew about the hazard.

Constructive knowledge means it should have known, either because the hazard existed long enough that ordinary care would have caught it or because it happened so regularly that it was foreseeable.

Proving either one is enough. The statute also leaves in place the broader common-law duty a business owes its visitors.

How Long Do You Have to File a Premises Liability Lawsuit in Florida?

Florida generally allows two years to file a premises liability lawsuit based on negligence, under Section 95.11 of the Florida Statutes. The deadline runs from when the claim accrues, meaning when every part of the claim is in place, which is usually the date of the injury.

A lawsuit filed after that window closes can be thrown out. Security footage can be recorded over, maintenance records can be lost, and witness memories can fade long before the two years are up, so waiting can weaken a claim even when time remains.

Can You Still Recover Damages If You Were Partly at Fault?

Yes, as long as you were not more than 50% at fault. Under Florida’s comparative fault law, damages are reduced by the injured person’s own share of fault. Because that cutoff is all or nothing, the difference between 40% and 51% fault is the difference between a reduced recovery and none at all. Evidence such as poor lighting or a missing warning sign helps show how much of the blame belongs to the property owner.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tampa Premises Liability Claims

Can a Tenant Bring a Premises Liability Claim Against a Landlord?

Often, yes. A landlord who keeps control of common areas such as stairways, hallways, parking lots, and pools is generally responsible for keeping those spaces reasonably safe. Responsibility for a hazard inside a rented unit depends more on the lease and on whether the landlord knew about the problem. Florida landlord-tenant law also gives renters separate rights to a safe property beyond negligence law.

What If I Was Attacked in a Parking Garage or Apartment Complex?

An assault on someone else’s property can sometimes support a negligent security claim against the owner, in addition to any claim against the attacker. These cases usually turn on whether the crime was foreseeable, for example because of earlier incidents at or near the property, and whether reasonable measures like lighting, locks, cameras, or guards were missing.

For apartment buildings, townhouses, and condominiums with five or more units, Florida’s multifamily security law gives an owner a presumption against liability, meaning a legal starting point in the owner’s favor, if the owner proves it substantially put specific measures in place, such as security cameras, lighting, and door locks.

Who Pays for an Injury on Commercial Property?

Payment usually comes from the property owner’s or business’s liability insurance, not from the owner personally. When more than one company is involved, such as a property owner and a separate maintenance or security contractor, each may share responsibility in proportion to its fault.

Talk With a Tampa Premises Liability Lawyer

Getting hurt somewhere you had every right to be is frustrating, especially when the owner’s insurer starts asking questions about your own carefulness. Smith, Feddeler & Smith, P.A. is ready to review what happened and explain your options. To talk with a Tampa premises liability lawyer, call (813) 993-0559 or contact us today for a free case evaluation.

Office Location

Lakeland832 Florida Avenue South
Lakeland, FL 33801

(863) 312-1102

Brandon202 E Brandon Blvd. Suite 107
Brandon, FL 33511

(813) 527-3716

Kissimmee1101 Miranda Lane
Ste1331, Kissimmee, FL 34741

(407) 904-5445

Tampa100 S Ashley Drive
Suite 600, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 859-5671

Orlando4700 Millenia Blvd
Orlando,FL 32839

(407) 553-3028

Clearwater13575 58th St North #200
Clearwater, FL 33760

(727) 914-5089

$1,200,000.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked as a tree guy and a giant limb fell on him. Claimant developed CRPS and ended up wheelchair bound. Our firm was successful in obtaining many benefits to the Claimant prior to settlement, including multiple home modifications, wheelchair ramps, authorization of medical specialist, and implantation of a spinal cord stimulator.

$350,000.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked as a bus driving and during an evacuation she jumped off the bus causing her to fall resulting in a serious back injury.

$269,671.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked performing clerical type job in an office. She was asked to carry a box down stairs when she slipped and fell down the flight of stairs injuring her head, neck and lefts arm / wrist / hand.

$220,100.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked for a temp service. He was helping to unload a trailer when his foot went through a board on the floor of the trailer causing his to fall, shattering his pelvis, and causing serious injury to his back, hip and head.

$1,223,423.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked as a selector / forklift driver. This case involved a specific injury to her right leg / knee. She continued to work which resulted in repetitive and cumulative trauma to the right knee and CRPS.

$630,000.00
Workers’ Compensation

Claimant worked for a transport company. One day he was forced to get under a trailer and while he was lifting and twisting, the Claimant injured his back and knee, which was left untreated until he retained representation and filed Petitions for Benefits. Unfortunately, the severity or the injury coupled with the delay in treatment caused the Claimant to developed CRPS.