When people think about personal injury cases, a “slip and fall” injury is one of the first to come to mind. It occurs when you slip and become injured on someone else’s property, typically a business. Covered under premises liability law, in some cases, the property owner or business owner can be held liable for your injuries. Here’s some more on the basics of slip and fall accidents.
If you are injured on someone else’s property, that doesn’t automatically mean that you have a successful personal injury case. This is true even if you slipped on a puddle that the owner or employee happened to miss. A lot of determining liability has to do with whether or not the owner acted reasonably. If the owners or employees of a business make regular and thorough efforts to maintain the safety and cleanliness of the property, they’ve exercised reasonable care, even if a hazard was missed. In order to have a valid liability claim, one of the following must be true:
- The property owner or an employee of a business must have caused a spill, worn or torn spot, or other slippery or dangerous surface or item to be underfoot.
- The property owner or employee must have known of the dangerous surface and neglected to address the problem.
- The property owner or an employee was not aware, but should have been aware of the problem because a “reasonable” person taking care of the property would have discovered and addressed the problem.
Another important aspect of a valid slip and fall case is whether or not you sustained an injury as a result of the incident. The seriousness of the injury is not necessarily as important as the fact that you were actually injured.
If you have been injured on someone else’s property, the first step to take after any medical attention you’ve received is to contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you determine how to proceed with your personal injury case.
