Premises liability is the part of the law that decides when a property owner or occupant can be held responsible for an injury caused by a condition or activity on the property. Mississippi courts treat premises liability as a type of negligence claim. Common examples include falls caused by wet or slick floors, broken stairs, holes or uneven pavement, and objects that fall on shoppers. In more limited situations, a claim may involve an injury caused by another person’s criminal act on the property.
What Duty Does a Property Owner Owe?
Mississippi courts use a three-step approach. First, the court decides whether the injured person was an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Next, it decides what duty the owner owed that person. Finally, it asks whether the owner breached that duty. (Leffler v. Sharp, 891 So. 2d 152 (Miss. 2004).)
- Invitees are people who come onto the property at the owner’s express or implied invitation for the benefit of both, such as customers in a store. The owner must keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition and warn of dangerous conditions that are not readily apparent.
- Licensees are people who enter for their own convenience, pleasure or benefit with the owner’s permission. The owner’s duty to a licensee is to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring the person.
- Trespassers are people who enter without permission or other right to be there. The owner’s duty to a trespasser is also to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring the person.
A person’s status can change. For example, Mississippi courts have held that a visitor who goes into an area where he or she was not invited can lose invitee status. When the facts are disputed, a jury may decide which category applies. Courts have also said there is no liability where a condition is not dangerous, and they treat ordinary features that customers expect to encounter, such as curbs, thresholds and steps, differently from actual physical defects.
Injuries Caused by Crimes of Third Parties
Mississippi’s Landowners Protection Act (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-66.1) limits claims against owners and managers of commercial and other real property when an invitee is hurt by the willful, wanton or intentional conduct of a third party. In general, the injured person must prove, among other things, that the owner’s or manager’s own conduct “actively and affirmatively, with a degree of conscious decision-making, impelled” the third party’s conduct. The Act also sets specific rules for proving an “atmosphere of violence” on the property.
What To Do After an Injury on Someone Else’s Property
- Get medical care, and follow your doctor’s instructions.
- Report what happened to the owner, manager or person in charge, and write down the name of the person you spoke with.
- If you can, take photographs of the condition that caused the injury, the surrounding area, any warning signs (or the lack of them), and your injuries.
- Get the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened.
- Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing, and keep your medical bills and records of time missed from work.
- Be careful about giving recorded statements or signing documents for an insurance company before you understand your rights.
- Talk with a lawyer promptly. Evidence such as surveillance video may not be kept for long.
Deadlines: The Statute of Limitations
Most premises liability claims against private property owners fall under Mississippi’s general three-year statute of limitations, which requires the lawsuit to be filed within three years after the cause of action accrued (Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49). Different rules can apply in some situations. For example, if the injury happened on property owned by a city, county or state agency, such as a public sidewalk or building, the Mississippi Tort Claims Act generally requires a written notice of claim at least 90 days before a lawsuit is filed, and generally requires the lawsuit to be filed within one year (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11). Because these deadlines can bar a claim completely, it is important not to wait.
Comparative Fault
Mississippi follows a comparative negligence rule. If the injured person was partly at fault, that does not by itself bar recovery, but the damages are reduced in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the injured person (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15). For example, if a jury finds an injured person 20 percent at fault, the damages awarded are reduced by 20 percent. Questions of negligence and contributory negligence are decided by the jury (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-17).
Talk With Us About Your Situation
If you were hurt on someone else’s property in Mississippi, please contact us to arrange a confidential consultation. We can review what happened and explain the options and deadlines that may apply to you.
This page provides general information about Mississippi law. It is informational only and is not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts, and reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change over time; this page was last reviewed in September 2026.
Talk with a Jackson, Mississippi lawyer
Have questions about premises liability? Call (601) 355-9600 (Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.) or send us a message to arrange a confidential consultation.
Our only office: 355 S. State Street, Jackson, MS 39201, next to the Hinds County Chancery Courthouse. We serve clients throughout Jackson and central Mississippi.