Does an owner of property have any duty to the public to protect them from injury?
An owner of property does have a duty to protect members of the public from injury that may occur on the property. However, the nature and extent of that duty will vary depending on the jurisdiction in question. Some states focus solely on the status of the injured visitor to the property. These states divide the potential status into three separate categories: invitee, licensee, and trespasser. As the term implies, an invitee is someone who has been invited onto the land. An owner of property must exercise reasonable care for the safety of invitees. A licensee is someone who enters the land for his own purpose, and is present with the consent, but not at the invitation, of the owner. For example, a door-to-door salesperson who enters the property and stays to chat with the owner about the product he is selling is a licensee. Finally, a trespasser is an individual who enters the property without the knowledge or consent of the owner and who remains there without any right or permission
