Landowner’s Duty to Licensee(s)

February 26, 2019 Posted in Articles Tagged in Personal Injury Share

If the injured individual is considered to be a Licensee, in Pennsylvania, a possessor of land owes a certain duties to that individual. A possessor of land is required to use reasonable care to make the land as safe as it appears or to disclose to the licensees the risk that will be encountered.  Further, a possessor of land is also required to inspect the premises and to discover dangerous conditions. The Pennsylvania Civil Jury Charge 18.50 states that a possessor of land will be found liable for harm caused to an Licensee by a condition of their land if:

1. the possessor of land knows or has reason to know of the condition, should realize that it involves an unreasonable risk of harm, and should expect that the Licensees will not discover or realize the danger, and
2. the possessor of land fails to use reasonable care to make the condition safe, or to warn the licensees of the condition and the risk involved, and
3. the licensees do not know or have reason to know of the condition and the risk involved.

The main question here turns to the possessor of land’s knowledge of the dangerous condition.  This knowledge does not have to be actual knowledge of the defect it can also be constructive knowledge by the possessor of land. If the possessor of land has any such knowledge they owe a Licensee the duty to warn them of the dangerous condition. This duty to warn is sometimes limited to defects on the property that a licensee is unlikely to discover.

Whether it be a slip and fall, trip and fall or some other type of injury occurring on a property, if you have questions about whether you are liable for an injury occurring on your property or have questions regarding an injury occurring on a property please contact a Bethlehem Injury Lawyer at The Law Offices of Edward J. McKarski for a free consultation.