Milford Premises Liability Lawyer

Premises Accidents Attorney in Milford, CT

Injuries happen every day. But when an injury occurs due to the actions of another party, the consequences can be detrimental. If you or someone you love has experienced this, reach out to a Milford premises liability lawyer to understand your full legal rights and options under Connecticut law.

Hire a Premises Liability Lawyer Today

Working with a Milford personal injury lawyer from Buckley Wynne & Parese can help you understand what to expect during your legal case. Our team comes from a long lineage of lawyers, dating back to 1881. Our attorneys strive to provide competent, transparent legal services to our clients, equipping them with the legal knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their cases.

We meet wherever is more convenient and comfortable for our clients, providing 24-hour availability to answer all questions and concerns you may have about your case.

Premises Liability Laws in Connecticut

In 2023, 47,026 people throughout the United States passed away because of a fall. Accidents were the third leading cause of death in Connecticut in 2025. Many of these types of injuries happen on another party’s property. When this happens, the victim may be able to pursue a legal case against the owner.

Property owners in Connecticut have a legal duty to reasonably maintain their premises. If they don’t, and a visitor is injured, they can be held liable. These types of cases cover a variety of owner and property types, such as:

• Hotel owners
• Restaurant owners
• Apartment complex owners
• Parking garage owners
• Homeowners
• Grocery store owners
• Boutique and store owners

These incidents can range from the victim falling from a hazard, getting ill from exposure to a toxic chemical or black mold, or even being a victim of a third-party crime that occurred due to improper security measures. During legal proceedings against the property’s owner, victims of premises liability incidents need to prove:

1. That the owner had a legal duty to care for their property
2. The owner failed to uphold their duty
3. That failure directly caused the victim’s injuries
4. The injuries the victim suffered led to financial and emotional losses

To prove these four elements to the court, you’ll need to provide substantial evidence. Your attorney can help collect this evidence.

Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability Claims in Connecticut

Victims of premises liability incidents typically have two years to file their case, either from the date of the incident or the date they discovered their injuries, whichever is later. For those living in Milford, this can be filed at the Milford Courthouse, located at 14 West River Street. It’s important to hire a premises liability lawyer before filing, as they’ll help explain what specific laws apply to your situation.

There is a third-year final deadline for filing, even if you didn’t discover your injuries until four years after the incident. This makes it vital to file as early as possible to help lessen your overall financial losses. The longer you wait to file, the harder it’ll be to preserve necessary evidence. Witness memories fade quickly after seeing traumatic events, and any surveillance footage that caught the incident on tape will likely be overwritten after a short period of time.

If you fail to file within the proper deadline, the court will most likely dismiss your case, and you won’t be able to recover any compensation.

Evidence for Your Premises Liability Case

Having as much evidence as possible is key to increasing your chances of success in your premises liability case. If you only have a small amount of evidence, and the other party has more proof leaning in their favor, it may sway the court’s final decision. Your attorney can help explain what will need to be gathered, and help you collect:

• Reports. This includes a detailed, written timeline of events, your resulting losses, and copies of the initial incident report filed by the Milford City Police Department.
• Testimonies. This includes eyewitness accounts and testimony from professionals who can offer their opinion about what caused your injuries. This is often done through accident reconstruction, which uses evidence from the incident and mathematical calculations to generate a digital reconstruction.
• Documents. This includes copies of your medical records from the Bridgeport Hospital or other medical care facility, as well as medical bills, which should be arranged in chronological order. Additionally, it’s important to provide proof of your emotional and financial losses, such as a doctor’s note from your therapist about your mental state since the incident or any income you’ve lost.
• Photos. This should include photos of your visible injuries, damage to your personal belongings, such as cell phone, clothing, glasses, and other items, and photos taken at the time of the incident of the site itself and any hazards present at the time, such as a patch of ice, broken flooring or handrailing, unstable stairs, a hazardous spill, or an object that fell and hit you.

• Video. This includes footage from nearby surveillance cameras that caught the incident, as well as any video taken in addition to or in lieu of photos. This is key evidence to prove the severity of the incident to the court. This will need to be collected quickly, as incident sites are typically cleaned promptly.

Connecticut Comparative Negligence Laws

Connecticut courts use a modified comparative negligence system to identify who was at fault for the incident and how much money to award the victim. Courts review the evidence to assign each person involved in the incident a percentage of fault, even the victim. If you are found to be over 50% at fault for the incident, you won’t be able to recover any compensation.

Any compensation given to you will be reduced by your personal percentage of fault. For example:

• If you were texting while walking in a grocery store and then slipped on a spill in an aisle, you may be assigned 30% at fault for not being aware of your surroundings.
• If the owner of the grocery store pressured employees not to clean up hazards and failed to provide property staff training, they may be assigned 70% at fault for the incident.
• If you’re awarded $100,000, it would be reduced by 30%, making your final settlement amount $70,000.

This system helps make sure that wrongdoers only have to pay for what they are personally responsible for.

FAQs

What Are the Most Common Injuries From a Premises Liability Incident?

The most common injuries from a premises liability incident in Connecticut can include electrical and fire burns, broken bones and fractures, bruising, lacerations, internal damage, traumatic brain injuries, illness and disease from toxic chemical exposure, bites from dogs, injuries from slipping and falling, spinal cord injuries, and even death in severe cases of negligence.

These injuries can happen from falling objects, criminal acts, and other hazards that the property owner should have reasonably fixed and avoided.

How Can a Premises Liability Attorney Help Me During My Case?

A premises liability attorney can help you during your case in various ways. They’ll start by listening to your case and explaining Connecticut laws in straightforward terms. They’ll then help file your claim at the appropriate court and gather necessary evidence for your case. During legal proceedings, they’ll represent you on your behalf. This makes it easier for you, as the other party likely has their own counsel, and it can be difficult to argue your side against a professional.

What Compensation Can I Get in a Premises Liability Case?

The amount of compensation you can get in your premises liability case depends on the losses you’ve suffered since the incident. Victims can request damages to help them recover compensation for their pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, the extent of their medical bills, any income they’ve lost due to their injuries, and damages to their personal belongings during the incident. Your attorney can help calculate the compensation that can be requested in your unique situation.

Can I Pursue Punitive Damages in My Premises Liability Case?

You may be able to pursue punitive damages in your premises liability case, depending on what happened during the initial incident. These damages are awarded to victims when the wrongdoer acted with extreme negligence or malice. For example, if a hotel owner knowingly avoided fixing a fire hazard, and a guest was burned during a fire, they may have to pay punitive damages. Punitive damages help punish them further and deter similar behavior from happening again in the future.

Why Choose Buckley Wynne & Parese?

The team at Buckley Wynne & Parese has a long history of helping victims of personal injury incidents. Our years of experience make us especially skilled in these types of cases. We’ve likely seen a similar case to yours in the past, and can use that knowledge to create a custom legal strategy tailored to your situation.

Reach out to us today to schedule a confidential consultation with our attorneys. We have offices located in New Haven, Hartford, and Stamford, but work with clients throughout Connecticut.

We operate on a contingency fee basis. This means when we take on a premises liability case, you don’t have to pay for our legal services unless we secure compensation for your case. Then, our attorneys will take a percentage of the final settlement.

Available 24/71-800-445-2278

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