Premises Liability Lawyer in Miami

Premises liability is the area of Florida law that governs injuries caused by dangerous conditions on someone else's property. It covers slip and fall cases, but also a much wider range of injuries: falling objects in stores, broken stairs and railings in apartment buildings and condos, defective parking lots, swimming pool drownings, balcony collapses, inadequate security, and dangerous conditions in hotels, restaurants, and event venues. Florida premises liability law is technical, fact-specific, and shaped by both common law and a series of statutes that protect property owners. A Miami premises liability lawyer who knows how Florida courts treat these cases can identify exactly what the property owner owed you and what evidence you need to prove your case.

Duty Owed Depends on Visitor Status

Florida law divides visitors to property into three categories, each owed a different level of care:

• Business invitees. A person on the property for the financial benefit of the owner — a customer in a store, a restaurant patron, a hotel guest. The property owner owes the highest duty: to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition, to warn of known dangers, and to inspect for and remedy unknown ones.
• Licensees. A social guest invited to the property for non-business reasons. The owner owes a duty to warn of known hidden dangers but is not generally required to inspect for unknown ones.
• Trespassers. A person on the property without permission. The owner owes only a duty not to willfully or wantonly injure the trespasser, with limited exceptions for known trespassers and for children under the "attractive nuisance" doctrine.

Common Florida Premises Liability Cases

• Slip, trip, and fall on wet floors, uneven surfaces, broken pavement, or unmarked changes in elevation
• Falling merchandise from store shelves and displays
• Broken stairs, railings, and handrails in apartments, condos, and commercial buildings
• Defective parking lots — potholes, broken wheel stops, inadequate lighting
• Swimming pool drownings and near-drownings — particularly in unfenced or inadequately-supervised pools
• Balcony, deck, and railing collapses in older South Florida buildings
• Elevator and escalator injuries from poor maintenance
• Negligent security — assaults, robberies, and shootings on properties where the owner failed to provide reasonable security in light of foreseeable criminal activity
• Dog bites on the dog owner's or property owner's premises
• Construction debris and tools left in walkways
• Inadequate warning of known hazards

Florida Statute § 768.0755 — The Slip-and-Fall Burden

Slip and fall cases involving a "transitory foreign substance" in a business establishment are subject to Florida Statute § 768.0755, which requires the injured customer to prove the business "had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition." Constructive knowledge requires showing either that the substance was on the floor long enough that the business should have known, or that similar conditions occurred regularly enough to make the hazard foreseeable. This statute reshaped Florida slip-and-fall law in 2010 and made these cases substantially harder for plaintiffs.

Negligent Security Cases in Miami

Florida courts hold property owners — especially apartments, hotels, gas stations, convenience stores, parking garages, and bars — responsible for foreseeable criminal acts on their premises if the owner failed to provide reasonable security. The key question is foreseeability, usually proved through evidence of prior crimes on or near the property, neighborhood crime statistics, the type of business, and industry security standards. Florida adopted significant changes to negligent-security law in 2023 (HB 837), including a presumption against liability for multifamily property owners that meet certain statutory security requirements (lighting, locks, deadbolts, and "crime prevention through environmental design" assessments).

Comparative Negligence

Florida applies modified comparative negligence with a 51% bar (effective March 24, 2023). If a jury finds you more than 50% responsible for your own injury, you recover nothing. Defense lawyers in premises cases routinely argue that the visitor should have seen the hazard or was distracted at the time. Investigation, photographs, and witness statements taken immediately after the injury are critical to anchoring the liability story on the property owner.

Statute of Limitations

For premises injuries occurring on or after March 24, 2023, Florida's statute of limitations on negligence claims is two years from the date of the injury. If the injury occurred on government property — a Miami-Dade Park, a city building, a public school — the pre-suit notice and damage-cap provisions of Florida's sovereign immunity statute (§ 768.28) apply.

Preserving Evidence

The single most important step after a serious premises injury is preserving evidence before it disappears. Surveillance video typically loops every 14–30 days. Sweep logs, incident reports, and prior-injury records may be discarded under retention schedules. We routinely send a written spoliation-of-evidence letter to the property owner within hours of being retained, demanding preservation of every category of relevant record.

The Open-and-Obvious Doctrine

Defense lawyers in Florida premises cases routinely argue that a hazard was "open and obvious" and that the visitor should have seen and avoided it. Florida courts treat open-and-obvious as a factor in the comparative-fault analysis rather than an automatic bar to recovery. The property owner still has a duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition; the open-and-obvious nature of a condition may reduce the duty to warn but does not eliminate the duty to repair. Lighting, distraction by store displays, angle of approach, and the visitor's reasonable focus all matter to whether the condition was actually as obvious as the defense claims.

HB 837 and Negligent-Security Apportionment

House Bill 837, effective March 2023, added § 768.0701 to the Florida Statutes. In a negligent-security action against a property owner, the jury must now consider the fault of any intentional tortfeasor — including the criminal who committed the underlying assault, robbery, or shooting. Under § 768.81, the jury apportions fault among everyone responsible, including the non-party criminal, and the property owner pays only its allocated share. That is a significant defense-favorable change. It does not eliminate negligent-security cases; it means plaintiffs' counsel have to build the case to keep the property owner's apportioned share high enough to justify the litigation cost.

The HB 837 Multifamily Presumption

HB 837 also created a presumption against negligent-security liability for multifamily residential properties (apartments, condos, gated communities) that adopt a specific set of crime-prevention measures: a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment within the past three years, deadbolts and peepholes on doors, locking devices on windows, lighting in parking lots and common areas, and security camera coverage in entryways. Defending against the presumption requires showing that the property either failed to adopt the required measures or that the criminal act was nonetheless foreseeable and inadequately addressed.

Damages in Premises Liability Cases

• Past and future medical expenses, with proof of amounts actually paid post-HB 837
• Past and future lost wages and loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Disfigurement and scarring
• Loss of consortium for a spouse
• Future life-care needs supported by a life-care planner and vocational economist
• Wrongful death damages under § 768.16 et seq. when a premises injury is fatal

Common Defense Tactics

• Comparative-fault attacks. "You should have seen it." Under the 51% bar, comparative fault is now potentially case-ending.
• Notice denial under § 768.0755. "There is no evidence the spill was on the floor long enough." Sweep logs, prior-incident records, and surveillance address this.
• Trespasser-status arguments. Defense tries to reclassify business invitees as uninvited licensees or trespassers to lower the duty owed.
• Pre-existing condition. Defense subpoenas decades of prior records. The eggshell-plaintiff rule is the response.
• Apportionment to non-party tortfeasors. In negligent-security cases, the criminal defendant is now on the verdict form under § 768.0701.
• The "Fabre defendant" argument. Defense names other potentially responsible parties (cleaning contractors, prior tenants, third-party maintenance companies) to dilute its own share of fault.

What to Do Checklist

1. Report the injury to the property owner or manager in writing and request an incident report.
2. Photograph the hazard, the surrounding area, lighting, signage, and any visible injuries.
3. Identify witnesses and get phone numbers.
4. Seek medical evaluation within 24 to 48 hours.
5. Preserve the shoes, clothing, or equipment involved.
6. Decline recorded statements to the property's carrier.
7. Stop social media activity while your case is pending.
8. Contact a Miami premises liability lawyer the same week so surveillance is preserved.
9. Calendar the two-year statute of limitations and any earlier sovereign-immunity notice deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between premises liability and a slip and fall?

A slip and fall is one type of premises liability case. Premises liability is the broader category and covers any injury caused by a dangerous condition on someone else's property — falling objects, broken stairs, negligent security, pool drownings, balcony collapses, dog bites, and many others.

Can I sue a condo association after a fall in the lobby?

Yes. Condominium associations are responsible for the safety of common areas under the condo declarations, Florida Statute Chapter 718, and basic premises-liability principles. Recovery usually runs through the association's general liability insurance.

What if the injury happened on government property?

Florida's sovereign immunity statute § 768.28 applies. Pre-suit written notice must be given to the agency within three years, suit must be filed within four, and damages are capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident absent a legislative claims bill.

How long do I have to file a premises liability case in Florida?

For causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury under § 95.11(3). Wrongful death claims have a two-year deadline running from the date of death.

What if I was partially at fault?

You may still recover, but only if your share of fault is 50% or less under § 768.81. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault.

If you have been injured on someone else's property anywhere in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free consultation.