Slip and fall injuries can range from very minor to extremely severe, depending on the circumstances. These injuries are often caused by the property owner’s negligence and failure to maintain safe conditions on his or her property. If you have suffered an injury as a result of a slip and fall accident, it’s important to understand your legal rights.
Property owners are responsible for keeping their property safe so visitors do not injure themselves. When an individual slips and falls because of the owner’s negligence in maintaining the property, this is known as a slip and fall accident. Examples of slip and fall accidents include a guest tripping on ripped carpet, slipping on a puddle of water, or falling down stairs because there is no handrail. As long as the property owner knew about the hazardous conditions but failed to do anything about it, he can be held liable. In fact, owners can even be held liable if they should have known about the hazardous conditions, but didn’t.
Each state has its own set of slip and fall laws, however these laws do not cover accidents that occur on federal government property. Although there are many variations of the law, in general, the legal definition of a slip and fall states an owner is liable when his negligence causes an accident that was “reasonably foreseeable.” This term means under the circumstances, a reasonable person would have been able to predict an accident could occur because of the unsafe conditions.
In some cases, the property owner is not held liable for injuries that occur on his premises. For example, if the victim was acting carelessly or negligently at the time of the accident, the property owner will not be held liable for the injuries. Property owners are not liable when a victim should have known to avoid a dangerous condition on the property.
To prove a slip and fall claim, you will first need to show an accident occurred on the property. Then, you will have to be able to prove you suffered an injury as a result of the accident, and have medical documentation to back up your claims. Finally, you will need to show the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous conditions that caused your accident, but did nothing to fix it.
Slip and fall injuries can be serious—and expensive. If you have been injured after falling on someone else’s property, speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible to discuss your legal options. Our team of attorneys can assess your case to determine who is liable and what damages you should receive. Contact Shegerian Conniff today to schedule a free legal consultation.