Every day in Chattanooga, people visit stores, restaurants, office buildings, and homes expecting these places to be safe.
Yet accidents happen when property owners neglect their responsibilities.
At Dennis & Winningham, our Chattanooga premises liability lawyers fight for Tennessee residents who suffer injuries due to dangerous property conditions.
Accidents on someone else’s property can leave you with serious injuries, medical bills, lost income, and pain. Tennessee law protects visitors when property owners fail to maintain safe conditions.
Our Chattanooga premises liability lawyers know exactly how to hold negligent property owners accountable.
What Counts as Premises Liability in Chattanooga?
Premises liability covers many situations where dangerous property conditions cause injuries.
These cases happen throughout Chattanooga, from downtown tourist attractions to suburban shopping centers.
Common premises liability situations include:
- Slip and fall accidents caused by wet floors, uneven surfaces, or poor lighting
- Falls from heights due to broken railings or unmarked drop-offs
- Injuries from falling objects or merchandise in stores
- Dog bites or animal attacks on someone’s property
- Swimming pool accidents
- Inadequate security leading to assault or robbery
- Building code violations resulting in structural failures
- Elevator or escalator malfunctions
- Fires caused by faulty wiring or other hazards
The Tennessee premises liability laws apply differently depending on why you were on the property.
Our Chattanooga premises liability lawyers carefully analyze your visitor status to build the strongest possible case.
Your Visitor Status Matters in Tennessee Premises Liability Law
Tennessee law classifies visitors into three categories, each with different legal protections:
- Invitees receive the highest level of protection. These are people explicitly or implicitly invited onto a property for business purposes. Shoppers at Hamilton Place Mall, patients at Erlanger Hospital, or guests at a Lookout Mountain attraction all count as invitees. Property owners must regularly inspect for dangers and fix any hazards they know about or should know about.
- Licensees enter property for social reasons or their purposes with the owner’s permission. Dinner guests, neighbors visiting your home, or delivery workers fall into this category. Property owners must warn licensees about known dangers, but have less of an obligation to inspect for hazards.
- Trespassers enter the property without permission. Property owners generally owe trespassers only the duty not to willfully cause harm. However, child trespassers receive special protection under the “attractive nuisance” doctrine, particularly regarding swimming pools, construction sites, or other features that might attract curious children.
Our Chattanooga premises liability lawyers determine your visitor classification and use this information to develop your case strategy.
How Our Chattanooga Premises Liability Attorneys Prove Your Case
Winning a premises liability case requires proving several key elements. The legal team at Dennis & Winningham gathers evidence to demonstrate:
- The property owner owed you a duty of care based on your visitor status and Tennessee law.
- The owner breached that duty by failing to maintain safe premises, ignoring hazards, or not providing adequate warnings.
- This breach directly caused your injury and was not due to your carelessness.
- You suffered actual damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, or pain and suffering.
Evidence in these cases might include security camera footage, maintenance records, witness statements, building code violations, or expert testimony about industry safety standards. Our Chattanooga premises liability attorneys know exactly what evidence matters most in premises liability cases.
Trust Our Chattanooga Premises Liability Attorneys
Premises liability cases demand specialized legal knowledge and aggressive representation. The property owner and their insurance company will fight your claim at every turn, often trying to blame you for your injuries.
Our Chattanooga premises liability attorneys level the playing field. We investigate thoroughly, consult with relevant experts, negotiate strategically, and prepare every case as if for trial.
Contact Dennis & Winningham today for a confidential consultation about your Chattanooga premises liability case. We stand ready to protect your rights and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Have you or a loved one been injured on someone else’s property?
- Do not rely on insurance companies.
- You are our top priority.
- Stay away from a settlement mill.
We understand the hardship and loss that people suffer after any type of injury. Accident victims and families in East Tennessee and North Georgia rely on the experienced premises liability attorneys at Dennis & Winningham Law to help them in aftermath of difficult situations.
Dennis & Winningham Law personal injury lawyers have been representing victims who have been injured in premises accidents for over combined 75 years.
Chattanooga Premises Liability FAQs
Can I be compensated if I get injured in a store or some other commercial establishment?
As a general rule, a customer at someone’s store is considered an “invitee,” and the storeowner is required to use reasonable care to make the premises safe, including the duty to make reasonable inspections to discover defective conditions. If you get injured in a store or some other business location, you may be able to recover money if the storeowner did not keep his premises safe, from a slip and fall accident for example.
If I am a guest in someone’s house and I get injured, can the homeowner be held responsible?
Yes. An invitee is entitled to the host’s knowledge of dangerous conditions in the house.
Can I be compensated if I get injured in the home that I rent from my landlord?
When a landlord rents a home to a tenant, he/she has a duty to inform the renter of any condition or defect that involves an unreasonable risk of bodily harm to persons who are lawfully upon the premises. A landlord can be held responsible if the tenant gets hurt due to the dangerous condition.
Can I be compensated if I get hurt in my apartment after I have warned the landlord about a dangerous condition that he/she fails to repair?
Yes. If a landlord fails to make such repairs in a reasonable time after he/she is aware of the need to make those repairs, then the landlord can be held responsible if the tenant or some other person lawfully on the premises gets hurt.
We Are Here For You
- Same day, evening and weekend appointments
- Home and hospital visits for the severely injured
- Never a fee until we receive a settlement for you
- We will go to trial if a fair settlement is not obtained
- Serving Georgia and Tennessee
Our firm offers a free initial strategy session to all prospective clients, where you can discuss your case with Lupton Winningham or Tricia Dennis.
You have nothing to lose by calling our office at (423) 892-5533 or booking a free strategy session to speak with one of our experienced Chattanooga wrongful death lawyers.
