The Importance of Being Earnest

It is incumbent upon claim professionals to thoroughly investigate and uniformly adjudicate all claims and obtain specific evidence supporting all of the allegations. When handling premises liability claims, this will involve discerning whether a land owner or the party contracted to provide services to a land owner is liable for the losses being presented. Although obtaining specific substantiating evidence is crucial when processing all claims, it is arguably more important when handling premises liability claims. Because it is relatively easy for a party to make this type of claim, it requires extra vigilance on the part of the claim professional.

The duty or the standard of care owed to business invitees is higher than that owed to licensees and trespassers. Thus, land owners must exercise reasonable care in maintaining their properties. Black’s Law Dictionary defines an invitee as one who is “on land of another if 1) he enters by invitation, express or implied; 2) his entry is connected with the owner’s business or with an activity the owner conducts or permits to be conducted on his land; and 3) there is mutuality of benefit or benefit to the owner.” In every negligence-based or civil tort claim, determining whether a party is negligent hinges on the answers to four basic questions: