An injury on someone else’s property can upend daily life fast, from emergency room bills to missed paychecks while a fracture or a head injury heals. Indiana law gives property owners a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe, and when they fail at that duty and someone gets hurt, the injured person may have grounds to recover compensation for medical care, lost income, and pain and suffering.
The Indiana personal injury attorneys at Wagner Reese have built a reputation across the state for taking on complex, high-stakes injury claims rather than quick, low-value settlements. As a boutique firm, our clients speak directly with the attorneys handling their case, not a rotating cast of case managers, and many of our clients come to us after being unable to reach an attorney at a larger firm. If you were hurt on someone else’s property, call Wagner Reese at 888-204-8440 to discuss what happened and what your case may be worth.
What Is a Premises Liability Case in Indiana?
A premises liability case arises when someone is injured because a property owner or operator failed to maintain safe conditions, and the two questions below cover what that means in practice.
Who Can Be Held Responsible
This applies to apartment complexes, retail stores, restaurants, parking lots, office buildings, and private homes alike. The property owner or whoever controls the space, such as a property management company or maintenance contractor, has a legal responsibility to inspect for hazards and either fix them or warn visitors within a reasonable time.
Common Causes of Premises Liability Accidents
For example, a grocery store that lets a spill sit on the floor for an hour without a warning sign, or an apartment complex that ignores a broken stairway railing for months, can both be on the hook if someone gets hurt as a result. The injury itself can come in many forms, including slip and fall accidents, dog bites, swimming pool accidents, elevator or escalator malfunctions, exposure to toxic substances, inadequate security that allows an assault to occur, or objects falling from shelves or ceilings.
How Comparative Fault Affects Your Indiana Premises Liability Claim
Indiana follows a modified comparative fault rule in premises liability cases. This means an injured person can still recover compensation as long as they are found to be 50 percent or less responsible for the accident that caused their injury. If a jury or insurance adjuster assigns you 30 percent of the fault, for instance, your final compensation is reduced by that same 30 percent.
This rule is also why property owners and their insurers often argue that the injured person was distracted, ignored a posted warning, or was somewhere on the property they should not have been. A premises liability lawyer can push back on those arguments with photos, maintenance records, and witness statements gathered soon after the accident, which is part of why acting quickly after a fall or injury matters as much as the medical care itself.
Types of Premises Liability Cases We Handle in Indiana
Premises liability covers a wide range of accident types, and the specific facts of where and how an injury occurred often determine which legal theory applies. Our Indiana premises liability attorneys regularly handle claims involving:
- Slip and fall and trip and fall accidents caused by wet floors, uneven pavement, or poor lighting
- Dog bites and other animal attacks on someone else’s property
- Swimming pool accidents, including drownings and near drownings at apartment complexes and hotels
- Elevator and escalator malfunctions that cause crush injuries or falls
- Inadequate security claims, such as an assault in a parking garage or apartment complex with broken locks or no lighting
- Exposure to toxic substances, mold, or chemical hazards inside a building
- Nursing home neglect cases involving falls, bedsores, or unsafe conditions in long-term care facilities
Some of these cases overlap with other areas of Indiana injury law. An assault that happens because a landlord ignored repeated requests to fix a broken security gate, for example, can support both a premises liability claim and a related claim handled by our sexual abuse and assault team, depending on what occurred.
Who Can File a Premises Liability Claim in Indiana
Indiana law sorts visitors to a property into three categories, and each one is owed a different duty of care, as the table below shows.
| Visitor Type | Example | Duty Owed by the Property Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Invitee | Customer in a store, guest at a paid event | Highest duty. Must actively inspect for hazards and either repair or warn of anything dangerous. |
| Licensee | Friend visiting a home, door-to-door salesperson | Lesser duty. Must warn of known dangers but does not have to actively search for hidden ones. |
| Trespasser | Someone on the property without permission | Minimal duty, with an exception for child trespassers under Indiana’s attractive nuisance rule. |
A trespasser is owed the least protection, though Indiana law carves out an important exception for children. If a property has an “attractive nuisance,” such as an unfenced swimming pool or an unsecured construction site, and the owner knows or should know that children are likely to wander onto the property, the owner can still be held liable if a child is hurt. This exception comes up often in cases involving young children injured on someone else’s property, which is one reason our injuries to children team works closely with our premises liability attorneys when a minor is involved.
What to Do After a Premises Liability Accident in Indiana
What you do in the hours and days after an injury on someone else’s property can directly affect whether you are able to recover compensation later. The steps below cover the basics in order.
Statute of Limitations for Indiana Premises Liability Claims
Under Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4, a person injured on someone else’s property generally has two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If the accident resulted in a death, Indiana Code § 34-23-1-1 gives surviving family members two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim. Missing either deadline typically means losing the right to recover compensation altogether, regardless of how strong the underlying case may be.
There are limited exceptions, such as when the injured person is a minor or was legally disabled at the time of the accident, but these exceptions are narrow and fact-specific. The safest approach is to have an attorney confirm your exact filing deadline as soon as possible after an injury rather than relying on the general rule alone.
How Wagner Reese Approaches Your Premises Liability Case
When you bring a premises liability claim to Wagner Reese, an attorney begins by securing evidence before it disappears, including surveillance footage, maintenance logs, and prior complaint records about the same hazard. Property owners and their insurers move quickly to repair hazards and discard records once they learn a claim may be coming, so early investigation often determines how strong a case ultimately becomes.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay attorney fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf. We are selective about the catastrophic injury cases we take on, and roughly half of our caseload comes from referrals by other attorneys and law firms who trust our litigation experience rather than from advertising alone. Our founding partners, Stephen Wagner and Jason Reese, have a combined background of decades handling premises liability and other catastrophic personal injury claims throughout Indiana, and every client at our firm speaks directly with the attorney handling their case rather than a case manager.
Frequently Asked Questions About Indiana Premises Liability Claims
The following questions cover what we hear most often from people who have been hurt on someone else’s property in Indiana.
Do I have a valid premises liability case in Indiana?
You may have a valid case if a property owner knew or should have known about a hazard, failed to fix or warn of it within a reasonable time, and that hazard caused your injury. The specific facts of your accident determine whether a claim is viable, so it helps to have an attorney review the details of what happened.
What is the deadline to file a premises liability lawsuit in Indiana?
Indiana generally requires a premises liability lawsuit to be filed within two years of the date of the injury under Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4. Waiting too long to speak with an attorney can also make it harder to gather the evidence needed to prove your claim.
How much does it cost to hire a premises liability attorney in Indiana?
Wagner Reese handles premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis, so there is no upfront cost to you, and we only collect a fee if we recover compensation on your behalf. A free consultation can help you understand your options before deciding how to proceed.
Can surviving relatives file a claim if someone died from a premises liability accident?
Yes. If a premises liability accident in Indiana results in death, surviving family members generally have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim under Indiana Code § 34-23-1-1, separate from the deadline that would have applied to the injured person.
Can I still recover compensation if I was partly at fault for my own accident?
Indiana’s comparative fault rule allows you to recover compensation as long as you are found to be 50 percent or less responsible for the accident, though your final award is reduced by your percentage of fault. Being told you were partly at fault is not the same as having no case at all.
What if the property owner is a large company like a retail chain?
Large companies and retail chains are often self-insured, which means you negotiate directly with the company rather than a separate insurance adjuster. These cases can move more slowly and require more persistence, which is why having an experienced premises liability attorney pushing the claim forward matters even more.
Contact Wagner Reese to File a Premises Liability Claim in Indiana
If you were injured on someone else’s property anywhere in Indiana, Wagner Reese can review what happened and explain your options under the state’s premises liability and comparative fault laws. Our attorneys have decades of combined experience handling catastrophic injury claims, our firm has recovered substantial compensation for injury clients across the state, and several of our attorneys hold recognition from Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America.
Every premises liability case has its own timeline and deadlines, and the sooner an attorney can begin gathering evidence, the stronger your case is likely to be. Contact Wagner Reese online to schedule a free consultation and find out what your premises liability claim may be worth.
