Falls in grocery stores, restaurants, apartment complexes, and parking lots injure Marylanders every day, from Bowie and Silver Spring to Towson and Annapolis. Maryland treats these cases as premises liability claims, with rules that favor property owners more than in most states. This article explains those rules and how a Maryland appellate case applied them.
The duty a property owner owes depends on why the injured person was there. Customers and other invited guests receive the most protection, and the owner must use reasonable care to inspect for, correct, or warn of dangerous conditions. Social guests and trespassers receive less protection under Maryland law.
An owner does not insure a visitor's safety. To recover, the injured person usually must show that the owner created the hazard, knew of it, or would have discovered it through reasonable inspection. Lawyers call the last form constructive notice, and it often depends on how long the hazard existed.
In Maans v. Giant of Maryland, L.L.C., 161 Md. App. 620 (2005), a shopper slipped on water in a Giant store. The Court of Special Appeals upheld judgment for the store because the shopper offered no evidence of how long the water had been on the floor. The case shows why photographs, witness accounts, and store records made close to the fall matter so much.
Maryland's contributory negligence rule allows a defendant to defeat a claim by proving the injured person failed to use reasonable care. Owners often argue that the hazard was open and obvious or that the visitor was distracted. Careful evidence of lighting, sight lines, and warnings can answer those arguments.
Spills and leaks from coolers, roofs, or ice machines, torn carpet, broken steps, missing handrails, and poor lighting cause many falls. Snow and ice on walkways and parking lots add winter risks. Common stairs and walkways at apartment complexes deserve particular attention, because landlords control them and must maintain them.
Get medical care and follow through with treatment. Photograph the hazard and the area around it before anyone cleans it up, and ask the store or manager to complete an incident report. Write down the names of employees and witnesses, and ask the business to preserve surveillance video.
Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article Section 5-101, a person must file most Maryland injury claims within three years. Falls on government property require written notice within one year. Many businesses record over surveillance video within days or weeks, so a prompt preservation request can decide the case.
Christopher L. Beard, an Annapolis attorney, represents people injured in falls throughout Maryland, including Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County. To discuss a fall, e-mail chris@attorneybeard.com or call (410) 267-0227. You can also read our article on falls on ice.
