Premises Liability
When you're hurt on someone else's property because it wasn't kept safe, the owner's insurer starts building its defense the same day. We represent injured people in slip-and-fall, dangerous-condition, and maintenance-failure claims across Washington, and we hold property owners and their insurers to the duty of care the law requires.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
4
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Premises liability attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle injury clients
Oseran Hahn represents people hurt by unsafe conditions on property they had every right to be on: a wet store aisle, an unlit stairwell, a loose handrail, ice left on a walkway long after the storm passed. We find out what the owner knew and when, preserve the evidence before it disappears, and pursue the property owner, the manager, and their insurer for the medical bills, lost income, and lasting harm a preventable injury leaves behind. The work is contingency-fee, so the first conversation costs nothing.
A premises case turns on a question the property owner would rather not answer: what did they know about the danger, and what did they do about it? We establish the duty owed based on why you were on the property; we build slip, trip, and fall claims on what Washington law actually requires; we trace each injury back to the maintenance, lighting, or code failure behind it; we lock down proof of the owner's notice before it's cleaned up or recorded over; and we value the whole claim, weigh any shared fault, and file inside the state's deadline.
Duty of care and visitor status
Washington premises law starts with why you were on the property. A business invitee, someone there for the owner's benefit like a customer, is owed the highest duty: the owner must inspect for hazards, fix or warn of them, and keep the property reasonably safe. Iwai v. State, 129 Wn.2d 84 (1996), adopts Restatement (Second) of Torts sections 343 and 343A, which govern an owner's liability for known and discoverable dangers, including conditions that are open and obvious where harm is still foreseeable. A licensee, such as a social guest, is owed a narrower duty to be warned of known dangers. We establish your status first, because it sets everything that follows.
Slip, trip, and fall claims
Most premises cases are slip, trip, and fall claims, and most turn on notice: did the owner know, or should they have known, about the hazard in time to fix it? Under Pimentel v. Roundup Co., 100 Wn.2d 39 (1983), a plaintiff injured by a self-service business's chosen mode of operation may not have to prove the owner's specific notice at all, where the operation itself creates a continuous or foreseeable risk of spills and debris. We pin down whether your case runs on the notice rule or the mode-of-operation rule, because the proof is different for each.
Dangerous conditions and maintenance failures
Behind most injuries is a condition someone let go: a stairwell with no working light, a handrail that pulls loose, a leak no one mopped, a walkway iced over hours after the storm. We connect the injury to the maintenance, inspection, or building-code failure that caused it, often through maintenance logs, work orders, prior complaints, and inspection records. Where the injury happens in a rental, Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW 59.18.060, requires landlords to keep the premises and common areas reasonably safe, and a breach of that duty supports the claim.
Proving notice and preserving evidence
A premises claim is won or lost on what the owner knew and when, and that proof has a short shelf life. Surveillance footage is overwritten in days, spills get cleaned, and incident reports get filed away. We move quickly to send preservation demands, secure video before it loops, and document the scene while it still looks like it did when you fell. When a defendant destroys or loses evidence it had a duty to keep, Washington courts weigh sanctions for that spoliation under the Henderson v. Tyrrell factors, and we pursue it.
Damages, comparative fault, and the filing deadline
We value the full claim: medical bills, future care, lost wages and earning capacity, and the pain and limitation that follow a serious injury. Washington is a pure comparative-fault state under RCW 4.22.005, so an owner will argue you share blame; your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but never eliminated by it. The deadline is firm: under RCW 4.16.080, most personal-injury claims must be filed within three years of the injury, and waiting erodes both the evidence and the leverage.
Insurers keep track of which firms prepare a file like it's headed to a jury and which ones take the first offer. We're in the first group, and it changes what your claim is worth.
You pay nothing unless we recover.
We handle injury cases on a contingency fee. The consultation is free, we advance the costs of building the case, and our fee comes out of the recovery, not your pocket. If there's no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
Built for trial, which is why most settle.
Every file is prepared as if a jury will see it: evidence preserved, experts lined up, damages documented. That preparation is exactly why the other side settles, and settles higher. The firm's trial group has been in Washington courtrooms for decades.
Senior attorneys, straight talk.
You work with experienced attorneys, not a rotating case manager, and you'll get an honest read on your claim, including when a case isn't worth bringing. Communication is steady and in plain language, so you always know where things stand.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
How long does a premises liability case take?
Most premises cases resolve in one to two years. The pace depends on how long you're still treating, since we don't settle until your medical picture is clear, and on whether the insurer disputes liability or damages. Cases that go to trial take longer.
Do I have a case if the hazard was obvious?
Often, yes. Washington law, under Restatement (Second) of Torts section 343A, can still hold an owner liable for an open and obvious danger when they should have anticipated that someone would be hurt despite it. Whether the hazard was obvious is one factor, not the end of the case.
What does it cost to hire you for an injury claim?
Nothing up front. We handle injury claims on a contingency fee: the consultation is free, we advance the case costs, and our fee comes from the recovery. If we don't recover anything for you, you owe no attorney fee.
How long do I have to file a premises liability claim in Washington?
Generally three years from the date of injury, under RCW 4.16.080. Some claims, like those against a government entity, carry shorter notice deadlines and extra filing steps. Because evidence disappears fast, the sooner you call, the stronger the case.
Will my case go to trial?
Most settle, but only because they were built to try. We prepare every claim for a jury, and insurers pay more when they believe a firm will actually take the case to verdict. If a fair settlement never comes, our trial group is ready to try it.
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Tell us what happened. The consultation is free, and an attorney from our personal-injury group will follow up within one business day.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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