If you are a property owner in Kentucky, then the last thing you want to have to happen is for a person to be injured while they are on your property. This can open you up to a whole world of complications. To avoid a potential lawsuit it is best to know the Kentucky premises liability laws and how they affect you as a property owner. Things like, “When you are liable for someone’s injury?” Read further to learn more.
Premises liability is never a cut-and-dry subject. Kentucky has its own special provisions that make the topic a bit more complicated. We’ll be going over some of the things you need to know to help make sense of your liabilities in the event of an accident.
Kentucky Premises Liability Laws Defined
Here’s a good starting point.
Premises liability is defined as the responsibility of a property owner to provide a safe environment for invitees that come onto the property.
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This applies to store owners, business owners, parking lot owners, and even private residence owners. In other words, Kentucky premises liability laws say that property owners have a duty of care to keep those they invite onto their property safe.
When the courts determine who is at fault for an injury on your property, it is this duty of care that carries the most weight. As a property owner, you have the responsibility to repair any dangerous elements on the property within reason and notify invited guests of any potential dangers so that they might avoid them.
Kentucky operates based on the comparative negligence rule. What this means is that the court will decide on a percentage basis how much the property owner was at fault and how much the injured party was at fault and the number of damages awarded to the injured party will be reduced by the percentage they were at fault for their accident. Kentucky also has certain rules regarding what is considered “obvious dangers”, things that a reasonable person would be able to know to avoid without prior warning.
The property owner has a responsibility to fix all non-obvious dangers to the property within reason. They must also alert guests of dangers that could not be repaired.
How is Liability Determined?
Once a person is injured, they have the right in most cases to file a personal injury claim against the property owner. At this point, they will need to prove certain factors in order for damages to be collected.
Firstly, the damaged party must prove the property owner was somehow negligent, meaning that they did not try to fix or warn about the potential danger. The burden of proof in these cases is quite high for the victim. Owners have a responsibility to act reasonably, meaning that if they cannot fix the issue, they only have to verbally warn guests of the potential danger to meet the duty of care.
Additionally, with the rule of “obvious dangers”, guests have a responsibility to do everything in their own power to avoid obvious dangers and protect themselves from harm. This is usually where the comparative negligence rule will come into play. How much liability does a guest have to protect themselves and how much responsibility does the property owner have to prevent these things from happening in the first place? In general, the property owner is still held at least somewhat liable, but not entirely.
One final note to understand is premises liability only covers conditions for invited or expected guests, such as customers or friends and neighbors that are invited over for a party. Trespassers and persons who enter a property illegally are not able to seek damages for injuries except in very specific circumstances.
As long as a property stays maintained and guests are warned of any potential hazards or other issues, a property owner in Kentucky can minimize their liability and the risk of someone being injured on their property.
