Can a property owner be held responsible if there were no prior complaints about the hazard?

Yes. A property owner can still be held responsible even if no one previously complained about the hazard. In many cases, the law focuses on whether the owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition through reasonable care, such as routine inspections, maintenance, and timely repairs. Some hazards should have been discovered through reasonable inspections, even in the absence of documented complaints. Whether the owner “should have known” is often a key legal question, and it typically depends on how long the hazard existed, how obvious it was, and what steps the owner took to keep the property safe.