Legal Question in Personal Injury in South Dakota

Re: liability of property owner/renter

Owners of commercial properties are often found liable in the general circumstances you describe. Commercial property owners are held to a comparatively high standard of care to keep their property and adjacent public sidewalks safe for their customers or business invitees. It does make some difference if you were a customer of the business on whose property you fell. It is not possible to make a definite statement of whether the property owner would be liable under the circumstances you describe. That determination would require an inquiry into the specific weather circumstances at the time of the accident, the sidewalk maintenance practices of the business owner, and the business owner's knowledge of the potential danger. Given the injuries you describe, however, my advice is that you should most definitely contact an attorney experienced in such cases and have your claim evaluated. The injuries are significant enough to justify efforts to further develop the case.

You should also be aware that many business owners have a type of insurance coverage that pays for medical expenses for people hurt on their business premisis without regard to fault. This coverage would pay only for the medicals and not for any other consequential damages from the injury, but the fact that fault is not an issue makes obtaining coverage more expeditious. You can make a claim for the medical expenses under this coverage and still pursue your personal injury/premisis liability claim for your other damages.