The laws of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. make property owners legally responsible for clearing their properties of potential hazards. This applies to any type of landowner or lessee -- businesses, private homes, landlords and others. If somebody is injured as a result of failure to meet this requirement, the injured person has the right to hold the property's owner or occupant responsible for the results. If you've suffered this type of injury, you may be able to claim compensation for your medical bills and lost income, your injuries and your emotional and physical pain.

Common accidents on other people's premises include:

• Slips, trips and falls on poorly maintained stairs, sidewalks or other surfaces
• Attacks by a dog or another animal
• Preventable violent crimes
• Toxic exposure to gas fumes, lead paint, mold and other harmful substances
• Swimming pool accidents

Of course, the law recognizes that not every property owner can reasonably prevent accidents. In order to make your claim, at a minimum, you must be able to prove that the owner or maintainer of the property where you were hurt knew about the hazard, or should have known about it, but failed to take action within a reasonable amount of time. This could mean actively creating the problem, failing to warn about it or ignoring a problem despite clear risk and plenty of time to correct it. Customers, potential customers, tenants, social guests and others may make a premises liability claim.

If you were hurt through carelessness by a property owner or occupant in greater Washington, D.C. or Baltimore or their suburbs in Maryland or Virginia, you have the right to make a legal claim. The law firm of Mesirow & Stravitz would like to help. For a free evaluation of your case, please contact us through our online form or call toll-free at 866-463-0303 or in the capital, 202-463-0303.