Hurt on Someone Else's Property? Get Clear Answers From El Gringo Law

Are premises liability cases hard to win? The short answer

Premises liability cases are not automatically hard or easy to win. The outcome turns on the facts: how the injury happened, what the property owner knew, what the evidence shows, and how well the injuries are documented.

A premises liability claim is a type of negligence claim. Herrera v. Quality Pontiac describes the basic New Mexico elements: a duty, a breach of that duty, and a breach that caused the damages.

In practice, the contest usually centers on three questions. Did the owner know, or should it have known, about the hazard? How is fault shared? Can the injured person prove the hazard caused the injury?

Gaps in treatment and lost evidence make cases harder to prove. Prompt medical care, plus photos, video, and witness names, makes the facts easier to show.

The four parts of a premises liability case

• Duty. New Mexico calls a person who enters property a visitor. An owner or occupant owes a visitor a duty to use ordinary care to keep the premises safe, as UJI 13-1309 explains. That duty applies even when a danger is open and obvious, unless the trial court determines that the visitor’s negligence was unforeseeable as a matter of law.
• Breach. A breach involves a condition that foreseeably poses an unreasonable risk of injury. A wet floor with no warning sign or a broken stair are common examples.
• Causation. The hazard must be a significant link to the injury. Under UJI 13-305, a condition is a cause if it contributes to the injury and the injury would not have occurred without it. Medical records and incident evidence help connect the two.
• Whenever the death of a person is caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another, the person who, or the corporation which, would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable to an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured, under NMSA § 41-2-1.

Where premises liability claims are usually contested

Most premises claims are contested over notice, shared fault, and evidence. Each one can change the value of a case.

• Notice. Under UJI 13-1318, an owner is charged with knowing about a condition that a reasonable inspection would have revealed. The owner is also charged with knowing about a condition it or its employees caused. How long a hazard existed often matters.
• Under NMSA § 41-3A-1, in causes of action to which several liability applies, a defendant who establishes that another’s fault is a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury is liable only for the portion of the total dollar amount awarded as damages equal to the ratio of that defendant’s fault to the total fault attributed to all persons, including plaintiffs, defendants and persons not party to the action.
• Evidence loss. Video gets overwritten, and logs and incident reports can disappear.
• Early statements. Recorded statements and early offers can shape how the incident is described. Under NMSA § 41-3-4, a release by the injured person of one joint tortfeasor does not discharge the other tortfeasors unless the release so provides.

How slip and fall and negligent security claims differ

Slip and fall claims usually turn on how a hazard came to be and how long it stayed. Negligent security claims usually turn on whether the harm was foreseeable.

• Slip and fall. Key facts include how long the hazard was present, whether warning signs or cleanup happened, and who caused the condition. Those facts tie back to notice under UJI 13-1318.
• Negligent security. The question is whether a criminal act was foreseeable. Evidence often includes prior incidents on the property and whether basic protections, such as lighting, locks, or patrols, were in place.
• Sexual assault on premises. These cases need careful handling of evidence and privacy. Our team discusses these matters in a confidential setting.
• Wrongful death. When a fatal incident ties to premises conditions or security, the family’s claim raises the same liability questions, plus the death statutes described above.

Every claim turns on its own facts. The same location can produce very different claims depending on what happened there.

What to expect: steps and timeline

A premises claim usually moves through five steps. Early steps focus on preserving proof, and a lawsuit comes only if the claim cannot be resolved first.

1. Review. You describe the incident and your injuries. Bring photos, incident reports, and medical papers you have.
2. Investigation. Requests for video, maintenance logs, and incident reports go out early, because evidence can be lost.
3. Medical documentation. Records tie the injuries to the incident and show the costs.
4. Demand and negotiation. The claim goes to the property owner’s insurer with the supporting evidence.
5. Lawsuit, if needed. If the claim is not resolved, a lawsuit may follow. It moves through discovery, then settlement or trial.

Deadlines matter. Under NMSA § 37-1-8, an action for an injury to the person or reputation of any person is subject to a three-year period. Under NMSA § 41-2-2, every action instituted under the wrongful death provisions must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues, and the cause of action accrues as of the date of death (NMSA 1978, § 41-2-2 — three years from the date of death). Start early.

Fees, costs, and why El Gringo Law

Many readers ask whether premises liability cases are hard to win. The first step to answering that question for your own facts is a conversation.

The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Our practice focuses on personal injury matters, including car accidents, trucking accidents, premises liability, negligent security, wrongful death, sexual assault, catastrophic injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and burn injuries.

Josh Wood is the lawyer responsible for this page. He is licensed in New Mexico and Arizona. You can reach the firm through the website at elgringolaw.com.

Readers in Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, Taos, Farmington, Bernalillo County, and Sandoval County can reach out the same way.

Frequently asked questions

Recovering when you were partly at fault

Talk with El Gringo Law about your premises injury

If you were hurt on property you did not control, or your family lost someone in a fatal incident on someone else’s property, the next step is a conversation about your facts. Bring the date, the location, and any photos or records you have. Call the firm or send a message through the contact form to get started.