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The Villages

Accident Attorneys Helping Individuals in The Villages

With a population of over 50,000, The Villages is located in Sumter County in central Florida. In 2008, the Census Bureau ranked it the fastest-growing micropolitan area anywhere in the country, and Forbes ranked it the fastest-growing small city. More than half of the residents in The Villages are 65 or older, with a median age of 66. There are slightly more female than male residents. Most of the community was developed and maintained using Community Development Districts (CDD), which is a form of special-purpose local government that is available under state law. Property owners there, as in other Florida towns, owe visitors and business invitees a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. If you are hurt on someone else’s property in The Villages, you should consult an accident lawyer at the Dean Law Firm. We can try to hold the negligent party accountable through a premises liability claim.

Take Legal Action Against a Negligent Property Owner

Premises liability cases may include slip and falls, dog bites, hidden dangerous conditions, negligent security, and swimming pool accidents. Whether or not you can recover may depend in part on your status on the property. People on someone else’s premises are classified as invitees, licensees, or trespassers. Invitees are those who enter onto somebody else's property for purposes connected with the owner's business, while licensees are generally social guests.

Invitees and licensees are owed a specific duty of care. A property owner must correct dangerous conditions or warn these visitors of hazards that the owner knows or should have discovered by using reasonable care. For example, if a person slips on a spilled drink in a grocery store, the victim will have to show that the store knew or should have known about the spill.

In contrast to slip and falls, Florida is a strict liability state when it comes to dog bites. Under Section 767.04, the owner of a dog that bites someone in a public place is liable for damages suffered by the victim regardless of whether the dog was known or should have been known to be vicious. However, behavior by the injured person that proximately caused the biting, such as taunting the animal, can reduce the owner's liability. In Florida, an individual will not be liable except to a child who is under six years old if there is a warning sign that includes the words "bad dog."

What if a person is criminally assaulted by a third party while at a commercial establishment? In Florida, a landowner or occupier can be held responsible for harm caused by this type of event if it was foreseeable. These negligent security cases may require a detailed investigation of several factors, including whether there were prior crimes of a similar nature in the same location that would have put the property owner on constructive notice of the risk.

Discuss Your Injury Case with Lawyers in The Villages

It can be difficult to prove that a defendant failed to meet the appropriate standard of care or draw a causal link from a breach of duty to an individual’s injuries. Moreover, Florida has a number of statutes that create inferences in favor of business owners that follow certain rules. This makes it important to enlist capable legal counsel when you have been hurt because of someone else’s negligence. The knowledgeable injury attorneys of the Dean Law Firm have asserted the rights of many accident victims near The Villages. We also represent individuals throughout Sumter, Marion, Citrus, Lake, and Levy Counties. Contact us at 352-387-8700 or via our online form for a free consultation.