Virginia Premises Liability Lawyer
A property owner isn’t automatically responsible because someone got hurt on the land, and it isn’t automatically your fault for missing a hazard. A Virginia premises liability claim turns on what the owner knew, when the owner learned it and what the owner did about it. Gray Broughton investigates who controlled the property and what the records show about the hazard before you were hurt.
Recognized. Reviewed. Trusted.
Security footage can be overwritten within days, and inspection records may disappear just as quickly. The longer a property injury claim waits, the harder it becomes to prove what the owner knew and when. Tell us what happened so we can determine what evidence may still be available and whether we can help.
What you have to prove in a Virginia premises case
A premises liability claim is a negligence claim involving property. You generally must show that the owner owed you a duty, failed to meet it, caused your injury and left you with losses such as medical bills, lost income and pain.
The biggest fights are usually over duty and notice: what the owner was required to do, and what it knew or should have known about the danger.
More than one company can also share responsibility. Virginia’s model jury instructions recognize that when the negligence of two or more parties helps cause the same injury, each may be liable. The instructions are not binding law, but they reflect how these cases are often presented to a jury.
The duty depends on why you were on the property
Virginia still places visitors into three common-law categories, and the property owner’s duty changes with each one. The duty is lowest for a trespasser and highest for an invitee. Pearson v. Canada, 232 Va. 177 (1986), explains all three.
Invitee
Enters the property at the owner’s express or implied invitation, usually for a purpose connected to the property or business.
Licensee
Enters for his own convenience or benefit with the owner’s knowledge and consent.
Trespasser
Unlawfully enters the land of another.
Injury caused by someone else's crime
Virginia’s general rule is that a person has no duty to protect another from the conduct of a third person. A narrow exception can apply where a special relationship exists.
Virginia also addresses trespassers by statute. Under Virginia trespass law, a property owner generally owes no duty of care to a trespasser unless a common-law claim, statutory claim or recognized court exception existed as of July 1, 2013. Those exceptions are limited.
Shoemaker v. Funkhouser, 299 Va. 471 (2021), explains the third-party rule using Restatement § 315 and Burns v. Gagnon, 283 Va. 657 (2012). Virginia recognizes certain special relationships, including business and invitee and innkeeper and guest.
Proving the owner knew, or should have known
A hazard existing isn’t enough. Pearson holds an occupier liable to an invitee injured by an unsafe condition that was not open and obvious if the occupier knew it existed, or by the exercise of reasonable care should have discovered it, and failed to remedy the condition or otherwise to protect the invitee against the danger. That last phrase matters: the duty isn’t limited to warning.
Constructive notice has its own standard. Grim v. Rahe, Inc., 246 Va. 239, 242 (1993), requires evidence that the defect was noticeable and had existed long enough to charge the owner with notice, and holds that if the evidence fails to show when the defect occurred, the plaintiff has not made out a prima facie case. Virginia sets no fixed number of minutes; the burden is to show when.
- Who created the condition, and whether an employee or contractor did.
- Inspection and sweep logs, and whether they were completed when they say.
- How long the condition existed, shown through footage, witnesses or earlier complaints.
- Whether the same hazard had been reported before.
When the defense says the danger was open and obvious
An obvious hazard doesn’t end your claim by itself, though it is the defense’s strongest argument. The duty to warn an invitee runs to latent dangers, not to dangers that are open and obvious. That rule answers the warning question, not whether the owner should have remedied the condition instead.
Distraction can matter, but it is not automatic. In Fultz v. Delhaize America, Inc., 278 Va. 84 (2009), a customer tripped on a metal bar beside an in-store ATM after her three-year-old grandson moved away from her, and the Supreme Court of Virginia held her contributory negligence was a jury question. Fultz also puts the burden on the plaintiff to show conditions outside herself that prevented her from seeing the danger or would excuse her failure to see it, and requires a distraction that was unexpected and substantial.
A warning sign doesn’t end a claim either. Its placement and timing still matter.
How contributory negligence decides these cases
Virginia doesn’t reduce a recovery by a percentage of fault. If the defense proves your own failure to act reasonably for your own safety was a proximate cause of your injury, that finding can bar recovery entirely. The rule is common law, not a statute
Being clearly in the wrong doesn’t remove the defense. An apartment balcony railing that violated a municipal building code was negligence per se, and the Supreme Court of Virginia held contributory negligence was still a complete defense.
Children are treated differently. Virginia presumes a child under 7 is incapable of contributory negligence, and from seven up to 14 the presumption can be rebutted.
The property injuries Gray Broughton handles
Slips, trips and falls
Negligent security
Assaults or robberies where poor lighting, broken locks or inadequate security may have allowed the attack to happen.
Construction and worksite injuries
A worker hurt on a site controlled by another company, such as a general contractor.
Nursing homes and assisted living
Injuries caused by unsafe conditions, poor supervision or neglect in a care facility.
Wrongful death
Fatal injuries caused by dangerous property conditions.
What our premises liability lawyers do in the first weeks
Trial readiness starts with fieldwork.
Gray Broughton is a veteran-led trial firm that’s not afraid to roll up our sleeves and go toe to toe with major insurers and big companies. Don’t wait until it’s too late to seek compensation. Contact us today.
The deadline to file
Virginia generally gives an injured adult two years to sue for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery, running from the date the cause of action accrues.
The statute opens with “unless otherwise provided in this section or by other statute,” which does real work. A minor’s time can be tolled, and a claim against a government body carries its own written notice requirement on a shorter clock. Don’t calculate your deadline from this page; ask a lawyer to confirm it.
Talk to our VA Premises Liability Lawyers About What Happened
When you call, someone listens, asks where the injury happened and who controlled the space, then explains whether we can help.
The consultation is free, and contacting us doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship or obligate you to move forward. Give us a call today at 804-669-9899 with a personal injury attorney who’s ready to go to trial for you.
Recent Case Results
These results come from cases the firm has handled. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee or predict the outcome of any other particular claim.
$10,000,000
Gray Broughton represented a seven-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury and lost his right leg above the knee after his family’s car was rear-ended by a pick-up truck hauling a utility trailer. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $10,000,000 shortly after filing suit. The client’s net proceeds were structured to ensure that he can be compensated for life. He is a tremendous young man who has overcome daunting odds. We wish him all the best for his future.
$1,250,000
Gray Broughton represented an attorney who suffered a traumatic brain injury after his car was struck by a commercial vehicle. After missing a year of work and undergoing intensive therapy, he was able to make a full recovery and return to work. Gray Broughton was able to settle his case for $1,250,000 shortly before depositions.
$750,000.
Gray Broughton represented an 83-year-old woman who slipped and fell on a restaurant floor. The fall broke her right shoulder in three places; it also broke her right hip. Through his investigation, Gray Broughton was able to prove that the restaurant had not been mopping its floors properly and knew that its floors were abnormally slick. Gray Broughton settled her case two months before trial for $750,000.
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Important: This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes vary based on the specific facts of each case.
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Frequently asked questions
Reasonable care can mean either. Under Pearson, an occupier can be liable for an unsafe condition that was not open and obvious if it knew of the condition or should have discovered it and failed to remedy it or otherwise protect the invitee. A sign isn’t automatically enough when the condition should have been corrected.
Usually not just by asking. The report may become available later through the claim or in litigation, and the business may argue parts of it are protected. Writing down your own account the same day, with photos and the names of any witnesses, gives you something that doesn’t depend on the store’s file.
Not necessarily, though it is the defense’s strongest argument. The open and obvious rule limits the duty to warn, not the duty to correct a dangerous condition. Distraction can also put your own care in front of a jury, but Fultz requires a distraction that was unexpected and substantial. No exception applies automatically.
It can change the duty you were owed, and may reduce it sharply. Virginia sorts entrants into invitee, licensee and trespasser, and § 8.01-219.1 leaves a trespasser with no duty of care except where a right of action existed as of July 1, 2013. Which category fits turns on the facts, not on the label the owner prefers.
Often more than one, and they usually carry separate insurance. Leases and maintenance contracts divide responsibility for a space, so the company that controlled the spot where you were hurt isn’t always the one whose name is on the door. Sorting that out early keeps a filing deadline from passing against the party that mattered.