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IN THIS ARTICLE
- Quick Answer: Florida Premises Liability Claims
- Who a Property Owner Owes a Duty To
- The Notice Rule — Fla. Stat. §768.0755
- Negligent Security & HB 837 (§768.0706)
- Common Premises Liability Cases
- Comparative Negligence & “Open and Obvious”
- Injuries on Government Property (§768.28)
- Compensation You May Recover
- The Deadline to File Your Claim
- What to Do After a Premises Injury
- How Kaiser Romanello Helps
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Answer: Florida Premises Liability Claims
A property owner can be held responsible when an unsafe condition on their property causes injury — but only if they knew, or should have known, about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn about it. In a slip-and-fall at a store, Florida law (Fla. Stat. §768.0755) makes that notice requirement the heart of the case: you generally must prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition. How much duty an owner owed also depends on why you were on the property. Most Florida negligence claims must be filed within two years (Fla. Stat. §95.11). For a free, confidential review, call Kaiser Romanello, P.A. at (844) 877-8679. No fee unless we win.
When you're hurt on someone else's property — a wet floor at a store, a dark parking lot where you were attacked, a broken stair in an apartment complex — the law does not simply presume the owner is at fault. Premises liability cases are won on specific elements: what duty the owner owed you, whether they had notice of the hazard, and whether that failure caused your injury. Kaiser Romanello, P.A. has represented injured Floridians since 2002. This page explains how these cases actually work.
Who a Property Owner Owes a Duty To
In Florida, the duty a property owner owes depends on your legal status when you were injured:
- Invitee (a customer or anyone on property open to the public or there for the owner's benefit) is owed the highest duty: the owner must keep the property reasonably safe, inspect for hidden dangers, and warn of hazards they knew or should have known about.
- Licensee (a social guest) is owed a duty to be warned of known dangers that are not obvious.
- Trespasser is owed only a duty not to be intentionally or recklessly harmed — with an important exception: the attractive-nuisance doctrine can make an owner responsible when a hazard like an unfenced pool draws a child onto the property.
Establishing your correct status is often the first fight in a premises case, because it sets the standard the owner is measured against.
The Notice Rule — Fla. Stat. §768.0755
This statute is the make-or-break element in most Florida slip-and-fall cases against a business.
Fla. Stat. §768.0755 — transitory foreign substances. If you slip on a spill or other transitory substance in a business establishment, you must prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have acted on it.
Constructive knowledge can be shown by circumstantial evidence that either: the condition existed for long enough that the business should have discovered it with ordinary care, or the condition happened regularly and was therefore foreseeable.
That is why evidence disappears fast in these cases: surveillance video showing how long a spill sat there, cleaning and inspection logs, and prior-incident records are often what proves notice — and stores overwrite video within days. Getting a preservation demand out early can decide the case.
Negligent Security & HB 837 (§768.0706)
When someone is assaulted, robbed, or shot on a property because of inadequate security — poor lighting, broken gates or locks, no cameras, or no guards where crime was foreseeable — the property owner may share responsibility. Foreseeability usually turns on prior similar crimes in the area.
Fla. Stat. §768.0706 (HB 837, 2023). Florida created a presumption against liability for the owner or operator of a multifamily residential property (like an apartment complex) who substantially implements a list of security measures — such as adequate lighting in common areas, security cameras at entrances and exits, locked gates, and deadbolts — and completes a security assessment. This makes the facts of what security existed, and what the crime history was, central to a modern negligent-security claim.
These cases require moving quickly to document lighting, cameras, entry points, and the area's crime history before conditions change. Learn more on our Florida negligent security page.
Common Premises Liability Cases
- Slip, trip and fall — wet floors, spills, uneven surfaces, missing handrails, poor lighting.
- Negligent security — assaults and robberies enabled by inadequate security.
- Swimming pool and drowning incidents — see our pool accident page.
- Dog bites — Florida imposes strict liability on dog owners under Fla. Stat. §767.04.
- Falling merchandise in stores and warehouses.
- Broken stairs, railings, escalators, and elevators.
- Fires, exposed wiring, and building-code violations.
Serious falls and assaults can cause catastrophic injuries; where a hazard causes a death, the claim proceeds as a wrongful death case.
Comparative Negligence & “Open and Obvious”
Two defenses come up in almost every premises case, and both can be answered with evidence:
- Comparative negligence. Under HB 837 (Fla. Stat. §768.81), a person found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing, and any recovery is reduced by their share of fault. Owners argue the injured person wasn't watching where they were going.
- Open and obvious. Owners argue a hazard was so obvious that they had no duty to warn. But an open condition does not automatically end a case — the owner may still have had a duty to maintain the property safely, and whether a danger was truly obvious is usually a question of fact.
Injuries on Government Property (§768.28)
If you're hurt on public property — a city sidewalk, a government building, a public pool — special limits apply.
Fla. Stat. §768.28 — limited waiver of sovereign immunity. Recovery against a government entity is capped at $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, and a written pre-suit notice must be served before suit, with the agency given time to respond. These deadlines are strict, so a possible government claim is a reason to act early.
Compensation You May Recover
- Past and future medical expenses and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and lost future earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Permanent disability, scarring, and disfigurement
- In a fatal case: funeral costs and survivors' losses under Florida's Wrongful Death Act
The Deadline to File Your Claim
⚠ Generally two years. Under HB 837, most Florida negligence claims now must be filed within two years (Fla. Stat. §95.11), and wrongful death claims are also two years. A government claim adds the §768.28 notice step. Because store video and maintenance records are kept only briefly, waiting can cost you the evidence that proves notice.
What to Do After a Premises Injury
- Get medical care right away — and keep every record.
- Report the incident to the owner, store manager, or landlord, and ask for a written incident report and its number.
- Photograph the hazard and the scene immediately — the spill, the broken stair, the dark lot — before it's cleaned up or repaired.
- Get witness names and contact information.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the property's insurer, and don't accept a quick settlement, before speaking with an attorney.
- Call an attorney quickly so a preservation letter can go out for surveillance video and inspection logs before they're overwritten.
How Kaiser Romanello Helps
Kaiser Romanello, P.A. has represented injured Floridians since 2002. In a premises case, we focus on the elements that decide the outcome:
- We move fast to preserve surveillance video, inspection and cleaning logs, and prior-incident records — the evidence that proves notice under §768.0755.
- In negligent-security cases, we document lighting, cameras, and the area's crime history, and we address the HB 837 presumption head-on.
- We establish your correct visitor status and answer the comparative-fault and open-and-obvious defenses with evidence.
- We prepare each case to be tried, because insurers pay fairly only when they believe a firm will take the case to a jury.
You pay nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee — no fee unless we win your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I automatically win if I fell in a store?
No. Under Fla. Stat. §768.0755 you generally must prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard — for example, that a spill sat long enough that staff should have found it, or that the same kind of hazard happened regularly. That's why preserving surveillance video and inspection logs quickly matters so much.
Can I sue an apartment complex if I was attacked there?
Possibly, through a negligent-security claim, if inadequate security made the attack foreseeable. Since HB 837, Fla. Stat. §768.0706 gives multifamily residential owners a presumption against liability if they substantially implemented specific security measures, so the facts of what security existed and the property's crime history are critical.
What if the hazard was obvious?
An "open and obvious" condition doesn't automatically end a claim. The owner may still have had a duty to maintain the property safely, and whether a danger was truly obvious is usually a question of fact for a jury, not an automatic bar.
How long do I have to file a premises liability claim in Florida?
Generally two years from the date of injury under Fla. Stat. §95.11 (HB 837), and two years for wrongful death. Claims against a government property owner require an earlier pre-suit notice under Fla. Stat. §768.28.
What does it cost to hire a premises liability lawyer?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we recover for you, and the consultation is free.
Talk to a Florida Premises Liability Lawyer
If an unsafe property injured you or someone you love, we'll review what happened — at no cost, 24/7 — and explain your options.
No fee unless we win.
Call (844) 877-8679 Request a free case review →
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