Virginia Premises Liability Lawyer

What does a Virginia property owner owe visitors?

It depends on why you were there. Virginia uses the traditional categories of invitee, licensee and trespasser, and the duty an owner owes rises with the visitor's status.

• Invitees, such as customers in a store, hotel guests and tenants in common areas, are owed reasonable care to keep the property safe and to warn of hidden dangers the owner knows or should know about.
• Licensees, such as social guests, are generally owed a warning about hidden dangers the owner knows about.
• Trespassers are owed much less, though owners cannot set traps or act willfully, and special rules can apply to children.

Most Virginia premises cases involve invitees, because they happen at businesses open to the public.

How do you prove a store knew about a hazard?

You show the owner created the hazard, actually knew about it, or should have found it through reasonable inspection. That last route, often called constructive notice, depends on how long the hazard was there.

A spill that hit the floor seconds before you stepped in it is hard to blame on the store. A puddle from a leaking cooler that employees walked past for an hour is a different story. Evidence that helps includes:

• Surveillance video showing when the hazard appeared
• Inspection or sweep logs for the aisle or area
• Prior complaints or incident reports about the same spot
• Statements from employees or other customers

Video is often recorded over within days or weeks, so a preservation request should go out right away.

Can an open and obvious hazard defeat a Virginia fall claim?

It can, and that is the defense owners lean on most. If a hazard was plain to see, the owner may argue it had no duty to warn, and that you were contributorily negligent for not avoiding it.

Here is how contributory negligence changes the math. A shopper slips on a wet floor near the entrance of a grocery store in Henrico County on a rainy day. Damages total $80,000. In a comparative fault state, if a jury decided the shopper was 15% at fault for not watching the floor, the shopper would recover $68,000. In Virginia, if the jury finds the shopper was negligent at all and that it helped cause the fall, the recovery can be zero.

That is not the end of every case. A hazard may not have been obvious because of lighting, crowds, displays or distractions the owner created. A customer looking at shelves stocked at eye level is not expected to stare at the floor. These details decide premises cases in Virginia.

Who is responsible for ice, rain and storm hazards on Virginia property?

Weather alone usually does not make an owner liable, but owners must act reasonably once a storm ends or a hazard forms. Virginia gets snow, ice storms in the mountains and heavy rain near the coast, all of which create walkway hazards.

Courts look at whether the owner had a reasonable time to clear snow and ice, whether a leaking gutter or drain created a refreezing patch, and whether mats and warning signs were used at entrances. Landlords may be responsible for common areas under their control, such as stairways and parking lots.

When is a Virginia property owner liable for an assault?

Sometimes. In Virginia, owners generally do not have to protect visitors from crimes by third parties, but there are exceptions, especially when a special relationship exists and the danger was known or foreseeable.

Hotels, apartment complexes and businesses with a history of similar violent incidents on site may face negligent security claims. Evidence includes prior police calls, broken locks or lights, and whether security staff were present. These cases are fact-specific and contested, so early investigation matters.

What if you fell on public property in Virginia?

Different rules apply. Claims against cities, towns and counties generally require written notice within 6 months, and claims against the Commonwealth within 1 year. Sovereign immunity also limits some claims depending on the activity involved.

Most premises claims have a 2-year filing deadline in Virginia, but the notice deadline arrives first for public property. Read more on our government and public property injury claims page. Our premises liability page explains how we evaluate falls and unsafe property, and if a dog was involved, see dog bites and animal attacks. For statewide rules, see our Virginia injury law overview, and if you were hurt in a crash in a parking lot, our Virginia car accident page may apply. Every review is free, and there is no fee unless we win.