The unpredictability is part of the beauty of walking outdoors. The aisles of a supermarket are supposed to be perfectly orderly and predictable, but the plants and rocks of a hillside are not. Therefore, accidental falls are always a possibility when you are walking on undeveloped land. This is only one of the reasons that premises liability laws offer more protection to customers at supermarkets than they do to people walking outdoors in nature. Despite this, it is still sometimes possible to prevail in a premises liability claim even if the accident happened outdoors and the land did not fit the definition of a place of business.
One of the defenses that a defendant might use against a plaintiff who got injured on the defendant’s property is that the plaintiff was trespassing, but sometimes trespassers can win their premises liability cases, and sometimes premises liability laws protect property owners even when the injured visitor was not trespassing. If you never thought about who the piece of land where you were walking belonged to until after you accidentally fell and got hurt, contact a Santa Fe slip-and-fall and premises liability lawyer.
In New Mexico, No Purple Paint Will Warn You That You are on Someone Else’s Property
20 states have adopted purple paint laws to delineate private property. In purple paint law states, property owners who want to prevent trespassing but do not have a fence or other easily visible structure to show the dividing line between the owner’s property and the adjacent public land must paint markings in purple paint to show where their property begins. Paint markings on trees or posts resist the elements better than “no trespassing signs” do, since they do not get blown away in high winds or washed away in rain or snow. Lawmakers chose the color purple for the paint markings because it stands out in a natural environment, and colorblind people can discern it more easily than other colors. New Mexico does not have purple paint laws, making it more difficult for visitors to tell when they have entered private property.
Premises Liability Laws Might Not Protect You, Even If You Were Not Trespassing
Property owners have a legal responsibility to protect paying customers and invited vendors from dangerous conditions on the property, which is why store employees place “caution wet floor” signs after mopping. They do not have a responsibility to protect trespassers from accidents, but trespassers may sue if the property owner intentionally injures the trespasser. Meanwhile, visitors who get injured on private property might be out of luck even if they were not trespassing. New Mexico has a recreational land use statute that says that if private property owners let visitors use their land for recreational activities, such as hiking or swimming, free of charge, the land owner is not legally responsible if visitors suffer accidental injuries.
Contact Slate Stern About Personal Injury Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured as a result of accidents on privately owned but undeveloped land. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://www.yahoo.com/news/see-purple-paint-stop-walking-225735940.html
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