Slip-Trip And Fall

SLIP – TRIP AND FALL

Slip and fall accidents usually occur on property or premises owned or maintained by someone else, and the property owner may be held legally responsible. These types of accidents can be caused directly by a victim’s interaction with the dangerous condition or indirectly.

A direct cause of a slip and fall accident can come in several forms:

• Water or other liquid spilled on a floor
• A substance or material like rain, snow or ice
• Poorly maintained floors
• Objects left in a walkway, like a toy

An indirect cause of a slip and fall is a condition in the environment that plays a factor in someone slipping and falling, such as:

• Poorly lit walkways
• Missing or broken handrails
• Cracked or uneven sidewalks
• Torn carpeting

When slip and fall injuries occur from falling to the ground due to dangerous conditions you have rights and recourse.

In most cases, a person injured in a slip and fall on someone else’s property must prove that the cause of the accident was a “dangerous condition.” In order to establish that a property owner or possessor knew of a dangerous condition, it must be shown that:

• The owner/possessor created the condition;
• The owner/possessor knew the condition existed and negligently failed to correct it; or
• The condition existed for such a length of time that the owner/possessor should have discovered and corrected it prior to the slip and
• fall incident in question.

Responsible Parties

In order to recover for a slip and fall injury sustained on another’s property, there must be a responsible party whose negligence caused the injury. This sounds obvious, but many people do not realize that some injuries are simply accidents caused, if anything, by their own carelessness.

Commercial Property