Slip/Trip and Fall Lawsuits Contains a Dangerous Condition, Negligence
When can you file a lawsuit for a slip/trip and fall injury? A slip and fall accident occurs when a walking surface, such as an interior floor or outside surface, contains a dangerous condition such as liquid, snow or ice. A person may recover damages from these conditions if they were injured due to negligence. The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP have decades of experience representing clients in accident cases, including slip and fall lawsuits. The firm continues to offer free legal consultations to individuals with questions about filing a lawsuit.
To recover damages for a slip and fall injury, there are certain key elements that your case must meet. You must prove that the owner acted negligently, leading to the dangerous condition. The owner may have failed to clean the property or cleaned it in a way that was inadequate. A slip and fall accident may occur if a property owner fails to warn about dangerous conditions, fix it or rope off the area, for example.
You may not be able to recover damages if the property owner had no way of knowing about the dangerous condition, as this situation may not constitute negligence. Negligence is hard to prove if you suffer a slip and fall injury while snow is still falling during a storm, for example.
If you were injured in a slip/trip and fall accident, seek medical attention and notify the property owner. Document your claims, including your injuries and any dangerous conditions (such as a wet floor). Since you only have a limited amount of time to sue, contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible if pursuing a claim.
Examples of a Slip/Trip and Fall Case
Not all slip and fall injuries warrant a lawsuit. The injured party must show that the property owner had notice of a dangerous condition and failed to act appropriately. Lawsuits are also filed when the owner took action, but the action was insufficient. For example, you are in a movie theatre and there is water on the floor because it is raining outside. The owner of the theatre knew or should have known about the slippery conditions but failed to clean it or warn patrons. You suffer an injury when slipping and falling on the water.
In another example, you are in an office building where the floors were recently cleaned with a solution that makes the floor slippery. The owner of the building is aware of this, but failed to place a warning sign or rope off the cleaned area. Subsequently, people in the building slip and fall, suffering a broken wrist or another type of injury.
Slip and fall cases may also include icy conditions, although these are usually harder to prove. In many cases, slip and fall on ice cases are considered accidents. However, there are cases where an injured party can recover damages for a slip and fall ice case. For example, if a municipal sidewalk appears to be cleared of snow ice after a storm, you may walk on the sidewalk assuming it is safe. As you are walking, however, it becomes clear that the sidewalk is an icy surface. You slip and fall, suffering an injury. In this case, you may be able to sue because the municipality undertook to clean the sidewalk but did so inadequately, creating an unsafe condition.
Again, slip and fall accidents encompass situations where a property owner had notice of a dangerous condition but failed to act appropriately. Negligence is difficult to prove if the owner could not have notice of a condition.
Compensation from a slip and fall lawsuit can help cover medical expenses, such as hospital visits or other types of medical treatment. Damages can also be recovered for lost wages, if you had to miss work due to an injury. For example, a slip and fall injury causes you to break your arm, leading to various medical appointments and forcing you to take sick days. Some injuries may be long-lasting, or create permanent disability in some way. In these scenarios, the injured party would also recover damages for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. For example, a slip and fall accident leads to paralysis or permanent nerve damage.
Legal Help for Slip/Trip and Fall Accident Victims
Parker Waichman has decades of experience representing victims injured by slip and fall accidents. If you or someone you know was injured by someone else’s negligence, you may have valuable legal rights. Our personal injury attorneys offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).
