What you need to do when ready after being sued
When you receive a premises liability lawsuit, your first step is to notify your insurance company within the timeframe stated in your policy—usually within days, not weeks. Most property owners and business operators have liability coverage that includes a legal defense, but only if you report the claim promptly. Failure to notify can void your coverage entirely.
Do not communicate directly with the person suing you, their lawyer, or any witnesses. Do not post about the incident on social media or discuss it with employees, friends, or family beyond what is necessary. Anything you say can be used against you. Your insurance company will assign you a defense attorney, and that attorney is the only person who should be handling communication about the claim.
Gather and preserve all evidence related to the incident: maintenance records, inspection logs, photographs of the property condition before and after the injury, weather reports from the date of the incident, incident reports you filed, and any video footage. If you have security cameras, preserve that footage when ready—it may be automatically deleted after 30 or 60 days. Write down what you remember about what happened while it is fresh, but do this only for your attorney, not for anyone else.
Key Takeaways
- Notify your insurance company within days of receiving the lawsuit, because most policies require prompt notice and will deny coverage if you delay.
- Stop all communication with the injured person and their lawyer when ready; your defense attorney will handle all contact on your behalf.
- Preserve all evidence—maintenance records, photos, video footage, and incident reports—because anything you destroy or lose will be assumed to hurt your case.
- The plaintiff must prove you knew (or should have known) about the dangerous condition and failed to fix it or warn about it; your defense depends on showing you did not know or that the person was careless.
- Settlement negotiations often happen before trial, and your attorney will advise you on whether settling makes financial sense compared to the cost of defending at trial.
Understanding what the plaintiff has to prove
A premises liability claim requires the injured person to show four things: that you owned or controlled the property, that a dangerous condition existed, that you knew (or reasonably should have known) about that condition, and that your failure to fix or warn about it caused their injury. If the plaintiff cannot prove all four, the claim fails.
The second and third elements are where most defenses live. If you can show that the condition was not actually dangerous—for example, that a wet floor was clearly visible and the person walked into it anyway—you weaken the claim significantly. If you can show that you did not know about the condition and had no reason to know about it, that is also a complete defense. For instance, if someone slipped on a spill that occurred moments before the fall and you had no way of knowing it was there, you are not liable.
The fourth element—causation—also matters. If the injured person was doing something they should not have been doing, or was not paying attention, that can reduce or eliminate your liability depending on your state's rules about comparative fault. Some states bar recovery if the injured person was more than 50 percent at fault; others allow partial recovery even if they were mostly at fault.
How to document that you maintained the property properly
Your best defense is proof that you took reasonable steps to keep the property safe. This means having written records of regular inspections, maintenance, and repairs. If you do not have these records now, start creating them going forward—but for this lawsuit, you need what you actually did at the time of the incident.
Pull together any maintenance logs, work orders, cleaning schedules, or inspection checklists from the relevant time period. If you hired contractors or cleaning services, get copies of their invoices and reports. If you posted warning signs, take photographs of them. If you had a policy about how often staff checked certain areas for hazards, document that policy and show that staff followed it.
If you have no written records, that does not automatically mean you lose. You can testify about what you did, and your employees can testify about their routines. But written records are far stronger because they were created at the time, not years later when memory fades and motivation to help your case is obvious.
Defenses based on the injured person's own carelessness
In most states, you can reduce or eliminate your liability by showing that the injured person was careless—that they were not paying attention, ignored warning signs, or did something unreasonable. This is called comparative fault or contributory negligence, and the rules vary by state.
For example, if someone was running in a hallway where running was prohibited, or texting while walking and did not see a clearly marked wet floor sign, that carelessness on their part can reduce what you owe. If they were trespassing on your property or were in an area they had no business being in, that also matters. Your attorney will investigate the injured person's actions at the time of the incident and use that evidence to argue that they share responsibility for what happened.
This defense requires evidence: witness statements, video footage, or the injured person's own admissions about what they were doing. Your attorney will also look at whether the injured person had any medical condition that made them more vulnerable to injury—for instance, if they had poor balance or vision problems that they did not disclose, that can be relevant to whether a reasonable person in their position would have noticed the hazard.
When settlement makes sense versus going to trial
Most premises liability cases settle before trial. Your attorney will evaluate the strength of your defense, the likely cost of defending at trial (attorney fees, informed witnesses, time away from business), and the range of damages a jury might award if you lose. Settlement negotiations usually begin after both sides have exchanged initial evidence and have a clearer picture of the case.
You should consider settlement if the cost of trial defense plus the risk of a large judgment exceeds what the other side is asking for. You should consider fighting if you have strong evidence that you are not liable, or if the settlement demand is unreasonably high. Your insurance company will have input on this decision because they are paying for the defense and will pay any judgment or settlement, but the final choice is yours.
Do not let emotion drive the decision. A jury may award damages for pain and suffering, lost wages, and medical bills—sometimes in amounts that feel unfair to you. But a jury may also find you not liable at all if your defense is solid. Your attorney's job is to give you an honest assessment of the odds and the costs, so you can make an informed choice.
Working with your defense attorney and insurance company
Your insurance company will assign a defense attorney to you at no cost. This attorney works for the insurance company, not directly for you, but their job is to defend you and minimize what the company has to pay. In most cases, your interests and the insurance company's interests are aligned—you both want the claim to go away cheaply or to win at trial.
Be honest with your attorney about everything, including facts that seem bad for your case. Attorney-client privilege protects what you tell them, and they cannot help you effectively if they are surprised by damaging evidence later. Tell them about any prior incidents on your property, any complaints you received about the condition, and any shortcuts you took on maintenance or safety.
Stay in regular contact with your attorney and respond promptly to requests for information or documents. Attend any depositions or court appearances they schedule. Do not discuss the case with anyone except your attorney, and do not post anything about it online. The more organized and responsive you are, the stronger your defense will be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I settle the claim without admitting I was negligent?
Yes. Most settlements include a clause stating that the settlement is not an admission of liability—it is straightforward a business decision to resolve the dispute. Your attorney will negotiate this language into any settlement agreement. However, the injured person may still tell others that you settled, and some people will interpret that as an admission regardless of what the legal document says.
What if I do not have liability insurance?
You will need to hire your own defense attorney, and you will be personally responsible for any judgment or settlement. This is expensive and risky. If you do not have insurance, contact your state bar association for a referral to a premises liability defense attorney and discuss payment options when ready. Some attorneys work on contingency or payment plans for defendants.
Can the injured person sue me personally if I own the business as a corporation or LLC?
Usually not, if you set up the business structure correctly and followed the legal requirements. However, if you were personally negligent—for example, if you personally failed to maintain the property or ignored a known hazard—the injured person may be able to pierce the corporate veil and sue you individually. Your attorney will advise you on your personal exposure based on the facts.
What happens if I ignore the lawsuit?
If you do not respond to the lawsuit within the important date set by the court (usually 20 to 30 days), the court will enter a default judgment against you. This means you automatically lose, and the injured person can collect damages without proving anything. You cannot ignore a lawsuit. You must respond through your attorney, even if your only response is to deny the claims.
Can I be sued again for the same incident if I settle?
No. A settlement agreement includes a release, which means the injured person agrees not to sue you again for that incident. Once you settle and the agreement is signed, the claim is closed. Make sure your attorney reviews the release language before you sign to confirm it covers all potential claims related to the incident.