This applies to a person who has been invited onto the property or into the building for business reasons, as in a customer or job applicant. The highest degree of care is owed to invitees to assure they are safe from hazards. This legally increases the duty of the property owner to repair known hazards as well as reasonably inspect, find and correct any dangers discovered on any area of the property that is not clearly labeled as a restricted area.
To put it simply, property and business owners have a legal duty to take all reasonable precautions to provide a safe environment for patrons. Unfortunately there is not a simple way to measure "reasonable". The legal definition in this case is what a person of ordinary intelligence and judgement would do under the same circumstance. Which leaves it open to interpretation.
This applies to a person who is a social guest. They are allowed on the premises for social reasons. Property owners are responsible for providing safe conditions however the degree of care is not as strict as with invitees. Property owners are not required to search for hazards but are required to tale reasonable care to protect licensees from danger they are aware of.
This term applies to a person who is not authorized to be on the property in question. Property owners are not required to protect someone who has trespassed on their property without acquiring permission. The responsibility of property owners in this scenario is called “zero duty” however they can be held liable for willfully injuring trespassers.
When the trespassers are children the rule is different. Land owners do have a duty to ensure that children who come onto their property unauthorized will be safe. Children are assumed to lack the awareness to look for dangers. They are also likely to go in to investigate conditions that would be dangerous, such as a swimming pool, an abandoned well or heavy machinery. Hazards of this nature are considered an attractive nuisance when it comes to children.
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