An invitee is owed two specific duties by an owner or occupier of land: (1) to use ordinary care in keeping the premises in a reasonably safe condition, and (2) to give timely notice of latent or concealed perils which are known or should be known to the owner, but which are not known to the invitee
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The Plaintiff's burden of proof
According to Fla. Stat. 768.0710(2): In any civil action for negligence involving loss, injury, or damage to a business invitee as a result of a transitory foreign object or substance on business premises, the claimant shall have the burden of proving that:
(a) The person or entity in possession or control of the business premises owed a duty to the claimant;
(b) The person or entity in possession or control of the business premises acted negligently by failing to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance, inspection, repair, warning, or mode of operation of the business premises. Actual or constructive notice of the transitory foreign object or substance is not a required element of proof to this claim. However, evidence of notice or lack of notice offered by any party may be considered together with all of the evidence; and
(c) The failure to exercise reasonable care was a legal cause of the loss, injury, or damage.
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Example of claim
Genuine issue of material fact as to whether nursing home, three of whose employees allegedly were in the immediate vicinity of grape on floor in hallway leading from dining room to elevator that residents used to return to their rooms or activities, had constructive knowledge of the presence of the grape on the floor precluded summary judgment for nursing home, in negligence action brought by visitor who slipped and fell on the grape. Markowitz v. Helen Homes of Kendall Corp., 826 So.2d 256 (Fla. 2002).
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Example of unsuccessful claim
Hospital did not have duty to warn patient of possibility of black widow spiders in emergency room since it did not know that black widow spider was on its premises; patient presented no evidence that hospital knew black widow spider was on its premises, patient's expert testified that hospital records did not show black widow spider infestation, hospital's pest logs showed no sightings of black widow spider, and nothing established that anyone else had ever been bitten by black widow at hospital. St. Joseph's Hosp. v. Cowart, 891 So.2d 1039 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2004), rehearing denied.
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