Premises Liability Representation in Montgomery County
A fall on someone else's property can change your life in an instant. What seems like a simple accident often results in serious injuries, such as fractured bones, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal damage, which require extensive medical treatment and keep you out of work for months. The physical recovery is difficult enough without the added burden of medical bills and lost income.
Fatemi Law represents people who have suffered serious injuries due to hazardous conditions on another party's property. We handle premises liability cases involving wet floors, icy walkways, uneven pavement, inadequate lighting, and other dangerous conditions that property owners failed to address.
Maryland law holds property owners responsible for maintaining reasonably safe premises, but recovering compensation is far from straightforward. The state's contributory negligence rule creates significant obstacles, and property owners' insurance companies build aggressive defenses to deny claims. We conduct immediate investigations to preserve critical evidence, such as surveillance footage, witness statements, and maintenance records, before it disappears.
Call (301) 857-4914 to discuss your case with a slip and fall attorney in Gaithersburg, MD, today.
Maryland law categorizes property visitors into three categories, each with distinct legal protections. The duty of care a property owner owes you depends entirely on why you were on their premises.
The three visitor classifications are:
Invitees. Visitors on the property for business purposes, such as customers in a retail store or clients visiting an office. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care, which includes the obligation to correct known dangers and actively inspect the property to identify hidden hazards.
Licensees. Social guests or visitors present with the owner's permission, but not for business purposes. Property owners must warn licensees about known dangers that would not be readily apparent, but they have no duty to inspect the property on the visitor's behalf.
Trespassers. Individuals on the property without permission. Property owners generally owe trespassers no duty except to refrain from willful or intentional harm.
We analyze the circumstances of your visit to establish your legal status and identify the full scope of the property owner's obligations. This classification is critical to building a strong case for compensation.
How Contributory Negligence Affects Slip & Fall Claims in Maryland
Maryland applies one of the strictest liability rules in the country. Under the doctrine of contributory negligence, if a jury finds that you bear even 1% of the fault for your fall, you are barred from recovering any compensation. This absolute rule means that property owners' insurance companies aggressively search for any evidence that you contributed to the accident, no matter how minimally.
Common defense arguments include claims that you were distracted, failed to notice a warning sign, or were not watching where you were walking. If the insurance company can convince a jury that you share even a fraction of responsibility, your case is defeated entirely.
We prepare for this defense from the outset of your case. Our approach focuses on gathering evidence that demonstrates the hazard was not open and obvious, that you exercised reasonable care for your own safety, and that the property owner's negligence was the sole cause of your injuries. We reconstruct the incident, interview witnesses, and develop a factual record that establishes the property owner's complete responsibility for the dangerous condition.
Establishing Property Owner Notice & Liability
A premises liability claim depends on proving that the property owner had notice of the hazardous condition. Notice may be actual, meaning the owner had direct knowledge of the danger, or constructive, meaning the condition existed long enough that the owner should have discovered it through reasonable inspection.
We establish this proof using maintenance logs, employee testimony, and surveillance footage. Our investigation creates a timeline that shows how long the hazard was present, who could have observed it, and what actions the property owner took or failed to take. This evidence demonstrates that the owner had a sufficient opportunity to correct the condition but failed to do so.
We handle cases involving residential properties, commercial establishments, and government-owned premises. Claims against government entities require compliance with strict procedural rules, including notice deadlines and considerations of sovereign immunity, which we navigate to protect the client’s right to pursue compensation.
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