Property owners in Mississippi have a legal duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for people who come onto their property. When that duty is breached and someone is injured as a result, the property owner may be held liable for the resulting damages. Premises liability cases arise in a wide range of settings, from retail stores and restaurants to apartment complexes, parking lots, and private residences. At Tollison & Webb P.A., we represent premises liability clients throughout Mississippi, pursuing full compensation from property owners and their insurers.

Types of Premises Liability Claims

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are the most common type of premises liability claim. They occur when a hazardous condition on someone else’s property, such as a wet floor, uneven pavement, inadequate lighting, or a hidden obstruction, causes a person to fall and sustain injuries. These cases often turn on whether the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to address it in a reasonable time. We investigate the circumstances thoroughly, including whether the property owner had prior notice of the hazard and what maintenance and inspection practices were in place.

Negligent Security

Property owners, particularly those operating businesses open to the public, have an obligation to provide reasonable security measures to protect visitors from foreseeable criminal activity. When inadequate security contributes to an assault, robbery, or other violent crime on the premises, the property owner may be liable for the resulting injuries. Negligent security cases often involve apartment complexes, hotels, parking garages, bars and nightclubs, and retail establishments in high-crime areas where the risk of criminal activity was foreseeable and preventable security measures were not taken.

Hazardous Conditions

Beyond slip and fall accidents, premises liability claims can arise from a broad range of dangerous property conditions, including broken staircases, defective railings, falling objects, exposed electrical hazards, toxic substances, and structural defects. The common thread is that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to take reasonable steps to fix it or warn visitors.

Swimming Pool Accidents

Mississippi property owners who maintain swimming pools owe a heightened duty of care, particularly with respect to children. Pool accidents involving inadequate fencing, missing safety equipment, insufficient supervision, or defective pool equipment can give rise to serious premises liability claims. Drowning and near-drowning cases involving residential and commercial pools are among the most serious matters we handle in this practice area.

Dog Bites and Animal Attacks

Mississippi law holds animal owners liable when their animals injure someone, particularly when the owner knew or had reason to know the animal had dangerous tendencies. Dog bite and animal attack claims are a subset of premises liability when the attack occurs on the owner’s property or in a setting where the owner had control over the animal.

How Mississippi Premises Liability Law Works

The strength of a premises liability claim in Mississippi depends in part on the legal status of the injured person at the time of the incident. Invitees, meaning people who are on the property for a business purpose or with the owner’s express or implied invitation, are owed the highest duty of care. Licensees, who are on the property with permission for their own purposes, are owed a somewhat lower duty. Trespassers are generally owed only the duty to refrain from willful or wanton injury, though children who are injured by an attractive nuisance, such as an unfenced pool or playground equipment visible from the street, may have stronger claims even if they were technically trespassing.

Mississippi’s pure comparative fault rule applies to premises liability claims, meaning your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault but is not eliminated even if you share some responsibility for the accident. Property owners and their insurers routinely argue that injured visitors were not paying attention or assumed the risk of the condition that caused their injury. We counter those arguments with evidence of the property owner’s knowledge of and failure to address the hazardous condition.

Evidence in Premises Liability Cases

Premises liability cases are highly fact-specific and depend heavily on early evidence preservation. Critical evidence includes surveillance footage from the property, which is often recorded over quickly if not preserved promptly, incident reports, prior complaints or maintenance records showing the owner had notice of the condition, photographs of the hazard, witness statements, and expert testimony on safety standards and the property owner’s failure to meet them. We move quickly to preserve this evidence when we take on a premises liability case.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I have a premises liability claim?

The basic elements are that you were injured on someone else’s property, a dangerous condition on that property caused your injury, and the property owner knew or should have known about the condition and failed to address it. If those elements are present, you likely have a claim worth evaluating. Contact us and we will assess the facts of your situation at no charge.

What if the property owner says I should have seen the hazard?

That is a standard defense in premises liability cases, and it does not necessarily defeat your claim. Whether a hazard was open and obvious enough that a reasonable person would have avoided it is a factual question that depends on the specific circumstances, including the lighting conditions, the nature of the hazard, and whether there were any warnings. We evaluate these arguments carefully and present evidence that the hazard was not as obvious as the property owner claims.

How long do I have to file a premises liability claim in Mississippi?

Three years from the date of injury for claims against private property owners. Claims against government entities are subject to different and shorter deadlines and require a notice of claim before a lawsuit can be filed. If your injury occurred on government-owned property, contact us promptly to make sure these deadlines are met.

What if I was injured at a business and they asked me to sign an incident report?

You should be cautious about signing anything before speaking with an attorney. Incident reports are created by the business and are designed to document the event in a way that protects the business’s interests. What you say in an incident report can be used against you later. If you have already signed one, that does not necessarily harm your claim, but contact an attorney before making any further statements to the business or its insurance company.

How much does it cost to hire a premises liability attorney?

We handle premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. There are no upfront costs and no hourly charges.

Contact a Premises Liability Attorney in Mississippi

If you have been injured on someone else’s property, contact Tollison & Webb P.A. to schedule a consultation. We represent premises liability clients throughout Mississippi from our office in Oxford.

Call (662) 234-7070 or contact us online. There is no fee unless we recover for you.