Providence Premises Liability Lawyer

Whether you’re visiting a College Hill coffee shop, browsing boutiques downtown, or renting an apartment on the South Side, you have a right to reasonably safe premises. Rhode Island law makes owners and occupiers responsible for hazards they know about, or should know about, that injure lawful visitors. This body of law is called premises liability. Because Providence is a dense, walkable city with a harsh New England climate and an aging building stock, unsafe property conditions are a frequent source of injury claims. Below you will find an in-depth, up-to-date discussion of the duties property owners owe, the defenses they are likely to raise, and the unique procedural rules that apply when the City of Providence itself is involved.

Our goal is to empower you with reliable information; it is not a substitute for retaining legal counsel. At Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, our personal injury lawyers fight aggressively to protect the injured's rights and ensure the compensation they receive is just.

Premises liability is a negligence-based cause of action. An injured person must show that:

• The defendant owed a duty of care as an owner, occupier, landlord, manager, or maintenance contractor.
• The defendant breached that duty by failing to act as a reasonably prudent person or entity would under the same circumstances.
• The breach was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury.
• The plaintiff suffered actual damages, such as medical bills, lost earnings, or pain and suffering.

Rhode Island has largely abandoned the older common-law categories of invitee, licensee, and trespasser in favor of a modern, fact-driven approach: owners must act reasonably toward all foreseeable visitors, though liability to trespassers remains limited. The state also rejects the “open and obvious” doctrine as a complete bar; a visible danger simply goes to comparative fault.

Unlike neighboring Massachusetts, Rhode Island uses a pure comparative negligence system codified at R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-20-4. Even if you were partly at fault—for example, by texting while walking across a wet supermarket floor, you may still recover damages. The court or jury will assign you a percentage of responsibility, and your award will be reduced in that proportion. There is no 50 percent cutoff; a plaintiff who is 90 percent at fault can still collect 10 percent of their losses.

Most Rhode Island personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the date of injury. R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14(b) sets this outside limit, though it can be tolled (paused) for minors or individuals who are mentally incompetent.

If your claim is against a public entity, such as a fall on a defective Providence sidewalk, additional notice rules apply. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-15-9, you must provide written notice to the city or town within 60 days of the incident, or your claim may be barred. Acting quickly is therefore critical.

Providence ordinances require owners and tenants to clear snow and ice from abutting sidewalks within eight hours after a storm ends (or by noon if the storm stops overnight). Failure to comply can result in tickets and create persuasive evidence of negligence if someone slips.

Statewide, towns may also enact penalties for unshoveled walks under R.I. Gen. Laws § 24-5-14. In practice, insurers defending property owners will often argue that sudden, ongoing precipitation made conditions unavoidable, a defense called the “storm in progress” rule, but Rhode Island courts look at reasonableness under the totality of circumstances, including the severity and duration of the storm and what remedial steps were feasible.

Premises liability covers a wide variety of unsafe conditions. In our firm’s Providence-area caseload, we most often see:

• Snow- and ice-related slips on sidewalks, parking lots, or entryways.
• Defective stairs and railings in triple-decker residences are common in the West End.
• Liquid spills in grocery stores and restaurants on Thayer Street or Federal Hill.
• Negligent security at bars and nightclubs leads to assaults.
• Poor lighting in apartment hallways or campus housing near Brown University and Rhode Island College.
• Falling merchandise in big-box retail stores on Plainfield Pike.

Each scenario raises fact-specific questions about notice, foreseeability, and code compliance.

Expect insurers and defense counsel to rely on a handful of recurring arguments:

• Lack of actual or constructive notice. Owners are liable only for hazards they knew or should have known about. Surveillance logs, cleaning schedules, and incident reports become crucial evidence.
• Open and obvious condition. While Rhode Island no longer absolves defendants entirely for obvious dangers, juries may attribute a significant share of comparative fault to a plaintiff who ignored a visible risk.
• Storm in progress. As noted, ongoing precipitation may excuse delays in snow removal, but only for a reasonable time after the storm ends.
• Recreational use immunity. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 32-6-3, landowners who open property for free public recreation (think public bike paths) owe only a duty to refrain from willful or reckless conduct.

Early investigation and skilled advocacy can blunt or overcome these defenses.

Your health always comes first; seek medical care immediately. If you can, also:

• Photograph the hazard before it is cleaned or repaired.
• Ask witnesses for contact information.
• File an incident report with on-site management.
• Preserve shoes or clothing that show the presence of slippery substances.
• Follow doctor’s orders and keep every medical bill.

Rhode Island allows “spoliation” sanctions if a defendant destroys crucial evidence (such as surveillance video), but you must send a prompt preservation letter to trigger that protection. A seasoned lawyer will do this for you.

Successful plaintiffs may recover both economic and non-economic damages, including:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Rehabilitation and adaptive equipment costs
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
• Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Scarring, disfigurement, or permanent impairment
• Wrongful-death benefits for surviving family members

Punitive damages are rare in negligence actions but may be awarded if the defendant’s conduct was malicious or in reckless disregard of safety.

Municipal premises cases—such as sidewalk defects or injuries in a public building—follow special procedures. The 60-day notice requirement is the most critical. Additionally, sovereign immunity caps damages at $100,000 per claimant under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-2, unless the city has purchased insurance that waives the cap. Careful discovery is needed to determine available coverage. Because jury trials against a municipality are heard in Providence County Superior Court, local counsel who know the judges and clerks can provide a practical advantage.

Expert testimony often decides Providence premises cases. Depending on the facts, you may need:

• Building-code specialists to opine on stair-rise ratios, handrail height, or fire-safety compliance.
• Meteorologists to reconstruct snowfall totals and timing.
• Human factors engineers need to explain why a hazard was not obvious.
• Economists or vocational experts to quantify long-term wage loss.

Our firm has cultivated relationships with accredited professionals who understand Rhode Island's evidentiary standards and have testified successfully in local courts.

For more than two decades, Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers has championed the rights of injured Rhode Islanders. Here is what sets us apart:

• Local Focus: We know the quirks of Providence housing stock, from creaky walk-ups on Elmwood Avenue to new construction on the waterfront.
• Trial-Ready Approach: While most cases settle, we prepare every file as if it will go before a jury, leveraging that readiness for stronger negotiations.
• No-Fee Promise: You owe nothing unless we obtain compensation for you.
• Technology-Driven Investigations: High-resolution site mapping, drone photography, and early-access FOIA requests help us build compelling evidence files.
• Client-Centered Representation: You will have a direct line to your attorney, not just a case manager.

Our results include seven-figure verdicts and settlements in slips on unshoveled city sidewalks, negligent security assaults in downtown parking facilities, and stair-collapse injuries in student housing. While past success cannot guarantee future outcomes, it does reflect our commitment to meticulous preparation and relentless advocacy.

• Seek Medical Care even if injuries seem minor; delayed symptoms are common.
• Document Everything from photographs to daily pain journals.
• Avoid Recorded Statements to insurance adjusters until you speak with counsel.
• Consult a Lawyer Early to protect evidence and meet notice deadlines.

Time works against plaintiffs: surveillance footage is overwritten, hazardous conditions are repaired, and witnesses’ memories fade. Early legal intervention preserves and enhances the value of your claim.

Premises liability law in Providence blends statewide statutes, local ordinances, evolving case law, and hard-nosed insurance defense strategies. Winning requires proving not only that a hazard existed, but that the responsible party had—or should have had—notice and a fair opportunity to fix it. Rhode Island’s pure comparative negligence system allows recovery even when an injured person is partly to blame, but it also means every percentage point of fault matters at trial.

If you or a loved one has been hurt because a property owner failed to keep their premises reasonably safe, reach out to Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers today for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to your story, investigate the facts, explain your options, and fight for the full compensation you deserve under Rhode Island law.