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Wrongful Death
Practice Areas
New Orleans Premises Liability Lawyers
Somebody owned that stairway. Somebody was responsible for that lighting, that balcony, that broken lock. When they knew it was dangerous and did nothing, Louisiana law makes them answer for what happened to you.
35,000+Cases won
1979Serving NOLA Since
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The Short Version
Premises liability in Louisiana - the quick answers
- Property owners are not automatically liable for every injury on their land. The case turns on knowledge.
- Under La. C.C. art. 2317.1, the owner or custodian is liable if they knew or should have known of the defect and failed to fix it.
- Building owners can be liable for “ruin” and defects under art. 2322.
- Landlords owe tenants specific duties under art. 2695 - and often try to contract out of them.
- This is not the merchant statute. Falls outside stores follow different, often more favorable rules.
- Negligent security claims exist: a property owner who ignores a known crime problem can be liable for an assault.
- You generally have 2 years to file (for injuries on or after July 1, 2024).
Hurt on someone else's property? We're on your side.
The stair had been loose for a year. Everybody in the building knew. Three people had complained about the light in that garage, and the lock on the gate had been broken since the spring, and the balcony rail moved when you leaned on it - and everyone who lived there had learned not to lean on it.
That is what a premises case actually is. Not bad luck. A hazard that somebody was responsible for, that somebody knew about, and that somebody decided was cheaper to ignore than to fix. Louisiana law puts a real duty on property owners, custodians, building owners, and landlords - and the whole case comes down to proving what they knew and when they knew it.
- Preserve the scene and the defect before it is repaired away
- Obtain maintenance logs, work orders, and prior tenant complaints
- Pull the incident history and code violations for the property
- In assault cases, obtain the police call history that proves foreseeability
- Identify every liable party - owner, manager, contractor, HOA
- Determine whether the merchant statute or the friendlier premises rules apply
- Answer the “open and obvious” and lease-shifting defenses
- Negotiate hard - and file suit if they refuse to be fair
What to do after an injury on someone's property
Premises cases are won with proof of knowledge. Most of that proof is created before you were ever hurt - and it can disappear fast.
1
Photograph the defect immediately
The broken step. The missing rail. The dead bulb. The gate that will not latch. Photograph it before anyone repairs it, because the repair is coming and it will erase your case.
2
Report it in writing
To the landlord, the manager, the property company. In writing, so there is a record with a date on it. A phone call is not a record.
3
Find out who complained before you
This is the case. Other tenants, prior incident reports, maintenance requests, work orders, code violations. Somebody almost always complained first, and that complaint is the knowledge you need to prove.
4
Get medical care
Falls from height, stair falls, and assaults produce injuries that are far more serious than they feel in the first hours. Get checked and keep the records.
5
Do not sign anything from the property company
Not a release, not a “statement,” not a waiver in exchange for a repair. Have a lawyer read it first.
6
Call the Forstalls fast
Repairs destroy evidence, maintenance logs get purged, and cameras overwrite. The condition of the property today is the proof of what it was yesterday.
It Was Not an Accident
Somebody knew about it first.
In almost every premises case we take, the hazard that hurt you had already hurt somebody, scared somebody, or been complained about by somebody. The maintenance request exists. The work order exists. The prior incident report exists. And it all sits in a file that belongs to the people you are making a claim against. Finding it is the job, and it is the whole job.
Who is responsible under Louisiana law
Premises liability is not one rule. It is several, and which one governs your case changes what you have to prove - and who has to pay.
Art. 2317.1 - The Custodian's Duty
The owner or custodian of a thing is liable for damage caused by its ruin, vice, or defect - but only if they knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of it, the damage could have been prevented by reasonable care, and they failed to exercise it. Knowledge is the whole ballgame.
Art. 2322 - Building Owners
The owner of a building is answerable for damage caused by its ruin, or by a defect in its original construction, when they knew or should have known of it. Balconies, stairs, ceilings, railings, and structures in a city this old.
Art. 2695 - Landlords and Tenants
A lessor owes duties to a tenant for defects in the leased premises. Landlords routinely try to shift these obligations through lease language - and those provisions are not always enforceable.
Negligent Security
A property owner who knows their property has a serious, ongoing crime problem - and who fails to take reasonable measures like working locks, lighting, or security - can be liable when a tenant or guest is assaulted. Foreseeability is proven with the crime history.
This Is Not the Merchant Statute
If you fell in a store, La. R.S. 9:2800.6 imposes a much harder burden. Outside of merchants, the general premises rules apply - and for many injured people, that is a meaningfully better position.
The 51% Rule (New in 2026)
Since January 1, 2026, a person found 51% or more at fault recovers nothing. Expect an argument that you should have seen it, avoided it, or known better - and expect us to answer it with the property's own records.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts - call us and we'll tell you where you actually stand.
What property owners argue
Property owners and their insurers do not usually dispute that the stair was broken. They dispute that they knew, that it was their responsibility, or that a careful person would have fallen.
These are the arguments, and they are the same ones every time.
“We Didn't Know”Which is why the maintenance requests, work orders, and prior complaints are the entire case
“It's Open and Obvious”You should have seen it. Genuinely contested law in Louisiana - not the automatic bar they present it as
“Not Our Property”Owner, management company, maintenance contractor, HOA, tenant - everyone points at everyone else
“The Lease Says”Landlords rely on lease language to shift liability. Those provisions are not always enforceable
“You Weren't Careful”And under the 51% rule, that argument can now erase a claim entirely rather than reduce it
The Quick RepairThe stair gets fixed within days - which destroys the evidence and, conveniently, looks responsible
Types of premises liability cases
A premises case is any injury caused by a dangerous condition on property that somebody else was responsible for maintaining. In this city, that covers an enormous amount of ground - because a great deal of New Orleans is old, humid, patched, and rented.
Each of these carries its own defendant, its own duty, and its own proof problem.
Apartment Complex InjuriesBroken Stairs & RailingsBalcony CollapsesFalls From HeightNegligent Security & AssaultsInadequate LightingBroken Locks & GatesParking Lot & Garage InjuriesSwimming Pool AccidentsDog BitesFalling ObjectsElevator & Escalator InjuriesConstruction Site InjuriesMold & Toxic Exposure
Common premises injuries
A fall down a flight of stairs is not a slip on a wet floor. A balcony giving way is not a stumble. Premises injuries tend to be catastrophic precisely because they usually involve height, structure, or violence - and none of those forgive a person for being unprepared.
These are the injuries we see, and they are almost never minor:
Traumatic Brain InjurySpinal Cord Injuries & ParalysisBroken Hips & PelvisMultiple FracturesInternal InjuriesCrush InjuriesGunshot & Assault InjuriesBurnsAmputationDrowning & Near-DrowningPermanent DisabilityWrongful Death
Somebody complained before you did
This is the single most important sentence in premises liability, and it is true far more often than people expect. That step had been reported. That light had been out for months. Somebody had told the office about the gate.
And every one of those complaints lives in a document that belongs to the defendant: a maintenance request, a work order, a tenant email, an incident report, a code violation, a police call log for that address. Louisiana law says the owner is liable if they knew or should have known - and that paper trail is the knowledge.
It is also the first thing that disappears. Records get purged. Employees leave. The stair gets fixed within a week, and now there is nothing to photograph and nothing to test. Which is why in a premises case, speed is not a nicety. It is the case.
Compensation in a premises case
Louisiana law sorts what you can recover into two buckets: the losses you can add up on paper, and the ones you cannot. Both are real, and both are recoverable.
Premises injuries skew catastrophic - falls from height, structural failures, assaults - which means the future care and lost earning capacity are frequently far larger than the bills already received. Those future numbers do not arrive with an invoice. Somebody has to prove them.
Economic damages
- Emergency, trauma & surgical care
- Future medical care & rehabilitation
- Long-term and in-home care
- Physical, occupational & cognitive therapy
- Lost wages and time off work
- Lost future earning capacity
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Assistive equipment
Non-economic damages
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish & emotional distress
- Permanent scarring & disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disability & loss of independence
- Loss of consortium
- Wrongful death damages for the family
What actually changes when a lawyer steps in
Premises cases are won in a filing cabinet. Every document that proves the owner knew about the hazard belongs to the owner - and none of it is coming to you voluntarily.
We go get the knowledge. Maintenance logs and work orders. Tenant complaints and emails to the office. Prior incident reports for that same stair, that same gate, that same garage. Building code violations and inspection history. In a negligent security case, the police call history for that address, which frequently shows years of documented, escalating crime that the owner did nothing about.
We identify every responsible party, because in premises cases the defendants hide behind each other. The owner points at the management company. The management company points at the maintenance contractor. The contractor points at the HOA. Each of them carries a separate policy, and untangling that structure is often where the recovery actually comes from.
And we move fast, because the hazard that hurt you is going to be repaired, and the records that prove they knew about it have a retention schedule. What exists today may not exist in ninety days.
Mistakes that can hurt your claim
Premises cases are lost because the proof of knowledge is perishable and belongs to the other side. Every week that passes, another piece of it is legitimately, routinely destroyed.
None of the mistakes below are fatal on their own. But each of them makes the knowledge harder to prove.
- Waiting while the property owner quietly repairs the hazard
- Never reporting the injury or the defect in writing
- Not photographing the condition before it was fixed
- Missing the prior complaints - the single best evidence in the case
- Signing a release or waiver in exchange for a repair or a rent credit
- Giving the property insurer a recorded statement
- Assuming a lease clause means the landlord has no responsibility
- Posting about the injury or your recovery on social media
Recent results for injured clients
A few examples of what we've recovered for people seriously hurt by someone else's negligence.
$2,200,000
Auto Accident
$1,500,000
Catastrophic Injury
$975,000
Serious Injury
$750,000
Head Injury
$485,000
Pedestrian Accident
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own facts.
The Full Picture
Understanding a Louisiana premises liability claim
Property owners are not responsible for everything that happens on their land. They are responsible for what they knew about and did not fix. Everything in these cases - every single thing - comes down to proving that.
The case is about knowledge, not about the hazard
People come in with photographs of the broken step and think that is the case. It is not. Everybody agrees the step was broken. The step is not in dispute.
Under Louisiana Civil Code article 2317.1, the owner or custodian of a thing is liable for damage caused by its ruin, vice, or defect - but only if they knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, of the defect, and the damage could have been prevented by reasonable care, and they failed to exercise it. Article 2322 says something similar for building owners. Article 2695 sets out a landlord's duties to a tenant.
Read all three and one word keeps appearing: knew. That is the fight. Not whether the stair was rotten, but whether they knew it was rotten and left it there anyway. And the evidence that proves that is not in your possession. It is in theirs.
The paper trail is the case
In case after case, this turns out to be true. The tenant on the second floor emailed about the railing in March. There is a maintenance request for that light from last year. Someone else already fell on that step and an incident report was written. The gate lock has been on a work order three separate times.
That paper trail is not background. It is the knowledge element. It is the difference between an unfortunate accident and a legally actionable one, and it lives in a filing cabinet, a property management software system, and the inbox of a manager who has been ignoring it.
It also has a shelf life. Records get purged on a retention schedule. Employees leave and take what they knew with them. And the hazard itself gets repaired within days of your injury - which destroys the physical evidence and, as a bonus for the owner, makes them look responsible.
“Everyone agrees the step was broken. The case is about who knew, and when.”
Negligent security - when the danger was a person
Some of the most serious premises cases in this city do not involve a defect at all. They involve an assault: a tenant robbed at gunpoint in a parking garage with no working lights, a guest attacked in a complex where the front gate has not latched in a year and the security cameras are decorative.
Louisiana recognizes that a property owner who knows their property has a serious, ongoing crime problem, and who fails to take reasonable steps to protect the people they invited there, can be held responsible when the foreseeable thing finally happens.
And foreseeability is provable. The police call history for that address. The prior incidents on the property. The complaints from tenants who told the office they were afraid to walk to their cars. Owners in these cases almost always knew - they simply calculated that lighting and a working gate cost more than the risk.
Everyone points at everyone else
Premises cases have a defendant problem, and it is deliberate. The property is owned by an LLC. The LLC hires a management company. The management company subcontracts maintenance. There may be an HOA, a commercial tenant, a security vendor, and a contractor who did the work badly two years ago.
Each one has a separate insurance policy, and each one will point at the others. Untangling that structure - and naming every party who actually owed you a duty - is frequently where the real recovery in these cases comes from, and it is the part that gets missed by lawyers who do not do this often.
What we need from you
Photograph everything before it is repaired. Report the defect and the injury in writing, so a dated record exists. Save every email, text, and maintenance request you ever sent about it.
Then think hard about who else knew. Neighbors who complained. The tenant who fell here before. The maintenance guy who said he had been telling them for months. Those people are witnesses, and they are the case.
Get medical care and keep going. And tell us everything, including the parts that worry you - whether you had been drinking, whether you were rushing, whether you knew the step was bad and used it anyway. We can work with a bad fact we know about. We cannot work around one that surfaces in a deposition.
It costs nothing to find out where you stand
You do not owe us anything to have this conversation. The consultation is free, and if we take your case, you pay no attorney's fee unless we recover money for you. If we do not win, you owe us nothing.
Two generations of this family have spent nearly 50 years doing exactly this work for our neighbors in New Orleans. Call us at 504-483-3400, and let's talk about what your case is really worth.
Premises liability FAQ
Is a property owner automatically responsible if I get hurt on their property?
No. Louisiana law does not make owners insurers of everyone who steps onto their land. Under Civil Code article 2317.1, they are liable for a defect only if they knew or should have known about it, the harm could have been prevented with reasonable care, and they failed to exercise it. The entire case turns on proving knowledge.
How do I prove they knew about the hazard?
Usually with their own records. Maintenance requests, work orders, tenant complaints and emails, prior incident reports for the same hazard, code violations, and inspection history. In a case involving an assault, the police call history for the address. Somebody almost always complained before you were hurt, and that complaint is the knowledge element.
Is this the same as a slip and fall in a store?
No, and the difference matters a great deal. Falls inside stores and restaurants are governed by the merchant statute, La. R.S. 9:2800.6, which imposes a specific and difficult burden of proving how long the hazard existed. Injuries on other property - apartments, garages, office buildings, private land - fall under the general premises rules, which are often a more favorable framework for an injured person.
I was assaulted at my apartment complex. Is that a premises case?
It can be. Louisiana recognizes negligent security claims where a property owner knew about a serious, ongoing crime problem and failed to take reasonable measures - working locks and gates, adequate lighting, functioning cameras, security personnel where warranted. Foreseeability is typically proven with the property's own crime and complaint history.
The landlord's lease says he isn't responsible for anything. Is that enforceable?
Not necessarily. Landlords routinely include lease language attempting to shift or waive their obligations, and those provisions are not always enforceable under Louisiana law. Do not assume the lease ends the discussion - have a lawyer read it.
They fixed the stair right after I fell. Doesn't that prove they were at fault?
It proves the hazard existed, but a subsequent repair is not automatically an admission of liability, and the repair also destroys your physical evidence. This is exactly why photographs taken immediately - before the fix - are so important, and why calling a lawyer quickly matters so much.
How long do I have to file a premises liability claim?
Generally two years for injuries on or after July 1, 2024. But the evidence that proves the owner knew - maintenance records, complaints, the condition of the property itself - has a much shorter life than that. Do not treat two years as breathing room.
Do I really need a lawyer for a premises case?
Yes, and quickly. Every document that proves the owner's knowledge belongs to the owner, the hazard is about to be repaired, and the defendants are structured to point at each other. The consultation is free, so there is no cost to finding out where you stand.
The Forstalls Take Care of It All
Hurt on someone's property? Let's find out what they knew.
Tell us what happened. Your consultation is free, there's no obligation, and you pay nothing unless we win.