Slip and Fall
Slip and fall accidents occur when you slip, trip, and or fall on a persons or businesses property. The property owner may be responsible for your accident and as a result, may be held liable. There are numerous causes to slip and falls. Wet floors, loose flooring, and even stairs can attribute to the slip and fall accident. Slip and falls are not just limited to these areas but can also occur when nature strikes. Snow, ice, even a hidden hazard all fall under the slip and fall category. In order to be compensated by the responsible party, an injury must have occurred.
Who's Responsible?
Proving a slip and fall case is tricky. There is not a clear-cut way to determine fault with this form of accident. The case comes down to 2 determining factors for liability.
Did the owner of the property act in a manner to help prevent the persons from slipping and or tripping?
Were you careless in not seeing and avoiding the condition that made you fall?
Having a case relies on proof that there was a "dangerous condition" and that the responsible party (the owner) had knowledge of the condition. In order for this to fall under the dangerous condition, the following must apply.
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The owner knew about the condition and failed to correct it
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The owner caused the condition
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The condition was present long enough for the owner to correct
Commercial Properties
It is important to note that commercial properties range from grocery stores to shopping malls, even strip centers and businesses.
Responsibility for injuries due to slipping and tripping include the owner or an employee doing the following;
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Must have caused the dangerous condition
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Known of the condition and not correct it
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Would have identified the problem and remedied it (common sense)
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Numerous parties may be held responsible in a commercial property situation. This means that the building owner, the business itself, and many more can be liable for the injuries that you receive as the result of a slip and fall at a commercial property.
Residential Properties
Landlords or owners of the property may be held liable. This covers tenants and third parties.
In order to have a landlord held responsible the following must be present;
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The landlord had control over the condition
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Repairing the condition would not have been expensive or difficult to accomplish
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The injury could be foreseeable due to the condition existing and not being fixed
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The landlord's inaction to remedy caused the accident