Maison Law represents and protects the rights of students injured due to a premises liability at UC Davis. Premises liabilities can occur due to poorly maintained property or careless actions on the UC Davis campus, but the bottom line is that most students are neglected or underrepresented after suffering an injury.
College students are often just starting their adult lives when entering college, and a serious injury can set them back years in their education, personal development, and careers. These are all costly damages, and students have the right to be compensated fairly for them. At Maison Law, we stand up for injured students and protect their right to compensation, as well as from liability if they are blamed for their injuries. Get the legal help you need and contact Maison Law today for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
How Do I Know if I Need a Lawyer After a Premises Liability Accident?
Determining whether you need a lawyer after a premises liability injury depends on a number of factors. It may be as simple as filing a premises liability accident claim with UC Davis to recover compensation, but unfortunately, that’s usually not the case.
UC Davis has insurance for these types of situations, but if their insurance does not fully cover your damages or disputes your claim, that’s where the Premises Liability Attorneys at Maison Law can help. We understand how insurance companies do not place much value on your missed time at college, or at work, or the emotional trauma involved with being injured and recovering. At Maison Law, we make sure students injured due to a premises liability receive full compensation for the following damages:
- Special Damages: medical bills, ongoing treatment, costs that accumulate when you’re unable to work, like rent or mortgage payments
- General Damages: these are non-economic hardships like pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, mental trauma
- Wrongful Death Damages: these damages may be sought by a spouse or close relative for funeral arrangements, burial expenses, and medical treatment before a loved one’s death
- Punitive Damages: these damages are rare, but if a property owner engaged in reckless behavior or had the intention of hurting you, then you could sue for punitive damages
Filing a Claim Against UC Davis (UCD)
Filing a lawsuit against a public college like UC Davis is more complicated than suing a company or individual because public universities are considered government entities. However, it is not impossible to sue a public university for compensation. If you would like to file a claim against UC Davis, your first steps should be to file a notice of your claim against the school district and wait for the district to complete an investigation of the incident. To file a general liability claim, you should:
- Contact their third-party insurer, Sedgwick CMS, at 1-800-416-4029, and provide relevant documentation of the incident and damages
- An examiner from Sedgwick CMS will contact you within 3 days of the claim being submitted
- Reimbursements will be distributed by Sedgwick CMS if your claim has merit based on proof of damages
If you elect to file a lawsuit against the university, Maison Law can help you with this process. Contact us today for a free consultation and see what legal options are available for your situation.
Understanding Premises Liability
UC Davis has a responsibility to ensure their premises are safe. If any injury occurs because of a condition that the university was aware of, or reasonably should have been aware of, they may be held liable for the injured person’s losses. Providing evidence is key in a premises liability case. If the condition is permanent to the property, it is often assumed that the property owner should be aware of it.
For example, let’s say the water was spilled on the floor recently in the hallway of a dorm room, and someone slipped and hurt themselves. The university may not be liable because they did not have time to clean it up or become aware of it. However, if the water was left, spilled on the floor, and the college did nothing to prevent it, they could potentially be liable. So, like in most personal injury cases, the details of the incident are extremely important when it comes to determining fault.
Examples of a university’s responsibility to prevent hazardous conditions include:
- Ensuring walkways, dorms, classrooms, and other facilities are safe and up to code
- Addressing hazards such as wet floors, broken stair railings, or inadequate lighting to prevent injury
- Knowingly install or fail to replace faulty equipment
- Hire unqualified employees
- Fail to properly train employees about safety protocols
- Fail to hire enough staff to supervise the property and customers
Sidewalk Injuries at UC Davis
One of the most common premises liability injuries on a college campus is sidewalk injuries. This is because sidewalks often have uneven surfaces due to cracks, tree roots, debris, or poor maintenance that goes unattended for too long, and puts many students at risk.
Thousands of students rely on sidewalks at UC Davis to get to their classes, dorm rooms, or extra-curricular activities. But, let’s say for example that La Rue Road is in poor condition, and you suffer a trip-and-fall accident because of an unrepaired pothole, causing your to suffer head trauma. This can have a major impact on your well-being, as well as your ability to return to your classes and continue your education.
This may sound like a freak accident, but sidewalk trip-and-fall injuries are extremely common. According to Purdue University, the most common injury amongst young, college-age adults is trip-and-falls, with 46% of these injuries occurring while walking. So, if you’re injured due to a trip-and-fall on a campus sidewalk, be sure to contact us at Maison Law for a free consultation to see if you have a premises liability case.
How to Prove Fault in a Premises Liability at UC Davis
To establish that the university was careless and caused your accident, you would need to prove the following:
- Duty of care: The university has a legal obligation to keep students and visitors safe and prevent hazardous conditions
- Breach: The university failed to uphold their duty of care toward students and visitors
- Cause: The university’s carelessness was a direct cause of your injury
- Damages: You suffered verifiable damages and incurred heavy losses due to the injuries sustained from the accident
These elements of carelessness appear relatively straightforward. However, proving these careless acts to the university’s insurance company takes legal experience and case management that we offer at Maison Law. Contact us today for a free review of your case and see what legal options are available for your situation.
Premises Liability Caused by UC Davis Employees: Respondeat Superior
Under the doctrine of Respondeat Superior, you can sue the university if one of their employees’ actions directly caused your injury while in the course of their employment duties. For example, if one of the university’s maintenance workers left a sewer lid uncovered on the sidewalk and a student fell in, seriously injuring themselves. The university would be responsible for the injury under Respondeat Superior, which says:
“The employer or a principal could be held vicariously liable for an unlawful or unjust act of an employee or an agent. For the employer or the principal to be vicariously liable under the respondeat superior, the employer or the agent must commit the wrongful act while working in the scope of the employment agency.”
Premises Liability Law at UC Davis
As anyone attending UC Davis knows, the campus is constantly undergoing construction. Campus facilities are updated almost every year to preserve, protect, and maintain existing dorms, classrooms, and campus facilities. However, if safety protocols are neglected during construction or a hazardous condition is created on campus, an injury can occur, resulting in a premises liability. A premises liability is a violation of California’s Civil Code 1714(a), which states:
“Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself.”
What Compensation Can I Expect From a Premises Liability Injury at UC Davis?
It is difficult to know the specific amount of compensation you can receive for a personal injury at UC Davis because the cause of the injury differs drastically on a case-by-case basis. However, the more severe your damages are, the more compensation you can typically expect to get. Damages from injuries usually include:
- Medical costs
- Lost wages
- Retraining or re-education for job placement if you have suffered a disability from the accident
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
It is important to note that most personal injury cases never make it to trial and are often settled outside of court. Both the defendant (the liable party) and the plaintiff (the injured party) usually will reach an agreeable settlement to:
- Avoid the uncertainty of a trial
- Avoid more stress and save time
- Save on costs and attorney fees
- Protect their privacy
Maison Law | UC Davis Premises Liability Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one has sustained injuries due to a premises liability, earthquake, or a careless act at UC Davis, Maison Law can get you the maximum compensation for the damage done to your life. We understand how hard you’ve worked to get to college, which is why we work hard to get student their life back after suffering an injury.
Contact Maison Law today for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation and case evaluation. There are no upfront charges for our services and we only get paid if we win your case.
