Public liability

Public liability is part of the law of tort which focuses on civil wrongs. An applicant (the injured party) usually sues the respondent (the owner or occupier) under common law based on negligence and/or damages. Claims are usually successful when it can be shown that the owner/occupier was responsible for an injury, therefore they breached their duty of care.

The duty of care is very complex, but in basic terms it is the standard by which one would expect to be treated whilst one is in the care of another.

Once a breach of duty of care has been established, an action brought in a common law court would most likely be successful. Based on the injuries and the losses of the applicant the court would award a financial compensation package.

In Asia, the law has not developed to the same extent, although the law does recognise negligence. Most professionals are predicting this development to occur rapidly and within the next ten years.

In the course of managing any property, you are obliged to comply with laws and statutes administered by government and municipal bodies. These bodies impose various liabilities of which the property owner/manager should be aware.

The most common examples of statute liability are in areas where you are required by law to effect insurance, e.g. workers' compensation and motor vehicle compulsory third party.

Property, hotel and operations managers should become familiar with the various types of contracts involved in commercial and retail activities. These cover a wide field but the more significant contracts are:

The major contractual liability from an insurance viewpoint is undoubtedly found in head lease and management agreements. These require the manager or head lessee to fully maintain, repair and replace the property, if damaged, until expiration of the agreement or lease.

Furthermore, the contracts usually require an indemnity to the owner against liabilities imposed upon the business for injuries and property damage arising out of the use, occupation or management of the property.

Every contract contains covenants imposing responsibilities on one or other of the parties. These should be carefully examined to ensure they are not unduly onerous

Owner/occupiers are required to provide a certain level of care. The duty of care is not the same for all people. It is dependent on a number of issues. To assist in establishing the duty of care required it is more clear to divide into groups the individuals who your premises and for what reasons. If we take an example of a large shopping complex the following groups of individuals would attract different levels of care.

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Wikipedia