Can poor lighting lead to a premises liability claim?

Have you ever been in a store that just didn’t have good lighting? Maybe a light burned out, or perhaps they were not installed in order to save energy. Whatever the truth is, if you’ve been hurt because of poor lighting, it’s nothing that you can laugh about.

Inadequate lighting can (and does) lead to serious injuries. Injuries can result from collisions, such as crashes in parking lots or from trips, slips and falls. Victims may suffer from broken bones, concussions and other injuries.

Property owners should know if their premises is dangerous

Property owners know if their premises has inadequate lighting in most cases. They will know if they didn’t install full lighting in one area of a building or if they skipped lighting pathways to save money. They may not be aware of lights that have burned out, but a cursory review of the property throughout the day should quickly catch any issues with lighting so that they can be promptly attended to.

If you do end up tripping over something or falling because of poor lighting, then it may be the property owner’s responsibility to compensate you. You may want to claim for damages such as lost wages, the cost of medical bills and other losses.

When you get hurt, remember to let someone at the property know right away. Whether that’s an employee or the owner of the building, you have to report your injury. They should be willing to call 911 for you, or you can go to the hospital on your own. From there, you can look into your options for pursuing a claim.