Dangerous Property of Others

Lawyers call these cases premises slip and falls, or trip and falls. They typically involve injuries from tripping or slipping on dangers like black ice, a hole covered with grass and debris or from poorly maintained or poorly lit areas. They can also involve other dangers, like being hit by product falling from shelves, or dangers from ongoing construction.

It is usually not enough for a lawsuit just to be injured on someone else’s property. We ordinarily have to know the specific danger or hazard that caused your injury, and be able to show that the danger or hazard was either created by the defendant or that the defendant knew or should have known about the danger in time to correct it.¹

Statue of Limitations for Dangerous Property Claims

If you are hurt because of a danger on someone else’s property, you generally have 5 years from when you acquired the right to sue, often the date of the injury, to file the lawsuit. Missouri Revised Statutes §516.100 and §516.120(4). If the property is owned by the City of St. Louis (or any other municipality across the state designated as a city of the third class), and involves a defect in a street or sidewalk, you have to make a report to the city. Missouri Revised Statutes §77.600 and §82.210. You have to give notice to the Mayor, in writing, within 90 days of the occurrence, stating certain information, or you may not be allowed to sue. Missouri Revised Statutes §77.600 and §82.210. Missouri’s Secretary of State publishes a yearly document called the Missouri Roster which gives the classes of Missouri cities.

Fault

In negligence cases in Missouri whether you did anything wrong—in addition to whether the defendant did anything wrong—will be important. In these cases, your own conduct may be considered by a jury to reduce all of some of your money damages,² especially if you were behaving in a dangerous way. In Missouri, you can still recover from the defendant when you are some or even mostly at fault but, your total money damages will be reduced by the amount of your fault.³

In dangerous property cases, juries often tend to assign some percentage of fault to the injured person for a variety of reasons like whether they were looking where they were going or whether they knew there was a safer route. We will talk with you about how your case and your recovery might be affected by comparative fault.

What to do if You’re Injured on Someone Else’s Dangerous Property

First, take care of your health and call an ambulance if necessary, or go the ER. If you think you may have a concussion go to the ER.

We believe it’s normally best to report the incident to the property within a reasonable time. If you don’t report it within a reasonable time, the property may use you not reporting to claim it never happened.

If employees of the property come when you are injured, and you are up to it medically, you can tell them what happened, but don’t admit that you did anything wrong, like saying you must not have been looking where you were going, or were walking too fast, or you noticed the thing that made you fall before but forgot about it. Make any conversations with the employees of the property short and factual. You are not required to sign anything or fill out any incident report and we would rather you didn’t, let them fill it out.

Try to pay attention to what others say about what happened, especially if they work for the property, and get their name and contact information if you can.

Be careful about what you say to the property people and your medical providers. They often write it down and what you say can hurt you later. Don’t lie to them or anyone else.

If you can, try to get photos of the danger or hazard before it changes, and try to get names and contact information of any witnesses. Keep any papers, like receipts, from your visit that day to the premises. If you’re a tenant injured on the property you rent, your lease will be also be important. Keep any documents you have or get from the defendant.

Learn more | How to Order Your Medical Records

Were You Hurt on Someone Else’s Dangerous Premises?
Find Out What to Do

Click on the button below for general advice about what to do if you think you may have a lawsuit.

Learn More

Do I need a Lawyer?

If your injury was someone else’s fault who had insurance, and the injury is relatively minor, involving just a few doctor visits for instance, we often tell people how to try to settle the claim themselves without having to pay an attorney’s fee. But, if your injury involves broken bones, surgery, extended medical treatment, serious permanent injury or death, a lawyer will normally be able to get you more than you would yourself.